Growing Pains
by p-sama7
Summary: This is about Iruka and Kakashi starting from the beginning. KakaIru in later chapters! Is now officially completed! Yosh!
1. I AM NOT A GIRL

This is p-sama7 here! I do not own Naruto but I think I can convince Kishimoto otherwise! This is my second FanFiction! I hope you enjoy!  
  
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Chapter 1: I AM NOT A GIRL!  
  
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"DAAAD! Do I have to?" Iruka whined as he stared at a heap of cloth on his bed.  
  
"Iruka. You know your mom loves that kimono on you! Now put it on and go pick her some flowers from the valley. Today is her birthday and I want everything to be perfect for her. Don't you?" Iruka's father looked down at his son with his dark brown eyes.  
  
Iruka's father was a big man. He stood almost 6 feet and had long hair pushed back in a ponytail. Even though their faces didn't look alike, everyone could tell they were related with those brown eyes. Unlike his fathers eyes though, Iruka's eyes seemed to show everything about the boy.  
  
After a minute of thinking how much his mom would love this he put on the kimono. His mom was a happy woman and always smiled. Iruka had her facial features, which made him feel wimpy since he looked so much like a woman.  
  
If it wasn't for the fact that his mother was an assassin he would have believed he was weak.  
  
Iruka quickly took out his ponytail so his hair could touch his shoulders and ran outside. He had just grown his hair out long enough to put in a ponytail but he wasn't used to wearing it up yet. He preferred his hair down so he could feel the breeze going through it anyway.  
  
The kimono wasn't anything special to Iruka but the way his mom's face lit up when he wore it made him treasure it. It was a light blue with dark blue and red water designs all over it. The designs showed the land his mother was from. Tall mountains, mist, birds, and flowers. His mom had made this when she moved to Konoha village after meeting Iruka's father.  
  
"Here it is!" Iruka yelled as he came to a field full of colorful flowers. "Which ones would she like? Her favorite colors are blue, yellow, and red!"  
  
Iruka started to pick some of the weirder looking flowers so that his lil' bouquet wouldn't seem so normal. He was quickly interrupted when he saw two ninjas fighting; they seemed to be slowly making their way to where he was.  
  
/ Ninja! Wow! Look at them fight. I wonder if I should leave.but I'm not done with my mom's bouquet. I'll just move out of their way if I need to. /  
  
"Crap! Kakashi! I thought we decided this was only going to be a short spar." A boy with a bowl haircut glared at his opposition.  
  
"Yeah it was, but you just wont give up! Are all the people on your family this stubborn Gai?" Kakashi kicked Gai to the area Iruka had been picking flowers.  
  
"Ow! What did I land on." Gai looked down to see he had smashed a basket full of flowers.  
  
Gai looked around quickly to find the owner staring down at the flowers. Kakashi came running up see why Gai never returned to the sparring match to find the kid glaring at both of them.  
  
/ Wow she is cute. / Gai looked over at Kakashi with a small blush.  
  
/ What is Gai blushing about? He just broke this cute little girl's basket. /  
  
"My mom's flower basket." Iruka slowly muttered and he glared at the two boys in front of him. "That belonged to my mom you jer.!"  
  
"Sorry about that. I'm Hatake Kakashi, and this is my rival The Green Beast!" Kakashi was interrupted when Gai punched him.  
  
"Call me Gai-kun! We will help you pick some flowers and maybe we would be able to pay your mom back for the basket." Gai smiled when Iruka nodded and they started to pick some more flowers.  
  
"I'm Iruka." Iruka looked up when he forgot to use formalities to see if they had noticed. He stared at Kakashi for a little while until Kakashi looked up to see why the 'girl' was staring at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why do you cover your face?" Iruka blushed slightly for being so bluntly but he really wanted to know.  
  
"Kakashi just thinks it makes him look cool." Gai smiled as Kakashi just brushed it off.  
  
"Are you chunins?" Iruka looked at their outfits. It would appear to be that they were but they couldn't be more than a few years older than him.  
  
"Yeah. We've been chunins for 2 years now. Are you in the ninja academy?" Kakashi tried to keep the conversation going. He hated the weird silence.  
  
"Yeah! I just came in this year. My dad said, ." Iruka stopped for a moment. "How old are you guys?"  
  
"I'm 9 and Kakashi is 8. How old are you?" Gai smiled at Iruka's expression. They were so young and yet they were chunins.  
  
"I.I am 5 years old." Iruka's face turned red as he realized how he had been making small talk with real ninjas around his age.  
  
"That's young for a little girl to be picking flowers all by herself." Kakashi handed Iruka the bouquet he had made.  
  
/ Huh? /  
  
"Yeah, but hey when you're a little older would you like to go out with me?" Gai blushed as he handed Iruka the flowers he had picked as well.  
  
/ What? /  
  
"Gai who on earth would want to go out with you?" Kakashi smiled under his mask when Gai blushed.  
  
"I.I am not.I'm a boy." Iruka stared at them in disbelief.  
  
"WHAT?" Both Kakashi and Gai stared down at Iruka. Iruka the cute little boy.  
  
"HAHAHAHA! Gai you just asked a boy to go out with you!" Kakashi started laughing, as Gai turned even redder.  
  
"I'm so sorry Iruka-chan I mean Iruka-kun." Gai kept stuttering trying to save some dignity.  
  
"You have to admit though." Kakashi now bent down directly in front of Iruka. "You are the cutest boy I've ever met."  
  
At this Iruka's veins twitched.  
  
/ Were they only talking to me because I was cute? Only cause they thought I was a girl. /  
  
"I AM NOT A GIRL!" Iruka yelled as he pushed Kakashi over and threw his flowers to the ground.  
  
Iruka ran away as quickly as he could, leaving behind two chunins staring at his back.  
  
"Kakashi! You shouldn't have made fun of him. He is probably really embarrassed now." Gai looked down at Kakashi who just kept staring in the direction the boy had ran.  
  
"I better go apologize and give him the flowers he had picked for his mom." Kakashi looked down at the basket that was left behind. "Gai, can I borrow some money to buy a new one of these?"  
  
"You know where we could find them?" Gai looked over the basket.  
  
"Yeah, my mom has one. If we switch the baskets and give my mom's to him then we can go buy mom a new one in the mist village." Kakashi looked over at Gai who thought it was a great idea.  
  
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Iruka ran all the way to his house. He even past his dad who was shocked to see the boy so mad. Iruka went into his room and jumped on his bed to smother his face in his pillow while he screamed.  
  
"What happened son?" Iruka's dad sat down beside the bed.  
  
"Iwaspickingflowerswhentwochuninsbrokemom'sbasketandthentheywerereallyniceto mewhenifoundouttheythoughtiwasagirlandoneevenaskedmeoutonadate!" Iruka blurted out everything as quickly as he could. He turned over to see his dad smiling at him.  
  
"People make mistakes. You do look a lot like your mother." Iruka's dad stopped when he noticed that wasn't helping. "But you also remind me of myself when I was your age."  
  
"Really?" Iruka smiled at his dad.  
  
"Yes." They smiled at each other before Iruka's dad got up. "Who knows maybe one day you'll be a better man than me." Was the last thing he said as he left the room.  
  
Iruka slowly got off his bed and dusted off his hands. He looked around his room as if he had forgot something when it hit him.  
  
/ Mom's flowers! /  
  
Iruka heard the door in his house open and ran around the corner to see his mom had just arrived from her mission. Her and his dad chatted for a little while before she winked over in Iruka's direction. He slowly came out from the corner with his eyes downcast.  
  
/ I forgot her flowers. I hope she isn't mad. /  
  
"Why Iruka! You're wearing my favorite kimono! Oh thank you honey. I love seeing you in it." She laughed as she knelt down to hug her son.  
  
"I'm sorry mom." Iruka hugged her really tight.  
  
"Sorry for what?" She held on to him and gazed up at her husband with a confused look.  
  
The doorbell rang.  
  
"Who on earth could that be? I don't think anyone knows your home yet. Maybe they are some of Iruka's friends." Iruka's father opened the door and turned around to smile at Iruka.  
  
"Iruka its for you," he turned to his guest, "why come in come in! Kakashi- sensei! Gai-sensei! It's been awhile what business do you have with our son?"  
  
Kakashi and Gai seemed to be shocked. They didn't realize that the boy from the valley was related to their chunin exam teacher. In fact they didn't even know the guy could smile. Through the whole exam the man yelled and beat everyone to a pulp especially Gai and Kakashi.  
  
Iruka glared at them. He was 5 after all and knew how to show people when he didn't want to see them. Iruka's mother smiled until she saw the look Iruka was giving them.  
  
"Iruka! Mind your manners." She hit him on the back of the head.  
  
"No, its okay. We had a misunderstanding with your son earlier this afternoon, and we wanted to return this." Kakashi showed her the basket full of beautiful flowers.  
  
"You mean you're the boys who thought Iruka was a girl?" The dad glared at the two chunins. "Which one of you hit on him?"  
  
At that the mother broke out laughing. Iruka turned bright red and grabbed the basket from Kakashi. Gai turned bright red and tried to laugh but only a squeak came out. Iruka's father was intimidating when he wanted to be.  
  
"Oh Iruka! Are these the things you were sorry about? Well the flowers are beautiful. You should thank your friends for returning them." Iruka's mom wiped away a tear then pushed him over towards Kakashi and Gai.  
  
"Th.Thank you Kakashi-kun and Gai-kun." Iruka bowed then walked away to his room so his embarrassment could end.  
  
"No prob! Iruka-kuuuuuun." Kakashi smiled when he saw Iruka flinch at the kun part.  
  
"I'm soooooooooo sorry!" Gai called out after Iruka had slammed his door.  
  
"I'm watching you Gai-sensei." Gai turned into stone and slowly looked up to see Iruka's father staring directly at him.  
  
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"Iruka I wanted to thank you! This was by far the most interesting and funniest birthday I have ever had." Iruka's mom played with his hair before putting it back in a ponytail. Iruka just sniffed as if he had cried.  
  
"Are you okay dear?"  
  
Iruka turned around and hugged his mom sobbing in her stomach.  
  
"I ruined your birthday! I broke you basket, I forgot your flowers, and I ripped the bottom of your kimono when I was running!" Iruka's mom looked down and sure enough there was a little rip. She smiled.  
  
"Iruka I have my basket and my beautiful flowers. Your kimono can be fixed with some needle and thread, but most important to me Iruka is that I got to spend my birthday with my son. You don't have to worry about anything son because I love you and I know your intentions were sweet." Iruka stopped crying and smiled at his mother.  
  
"Now how about we go get some cookies." Iruka jumped down and grabbed her hand. "Your father made his specialty!" at that Iruka turned around and went back to his bed as his mother laughed.  
  
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"Kakashi!" Gai held a bag in his hand.  
  
"What is it Gai? I was just about to chose which book I wanted." Kakashi glared at Gai who came running up with a really happy look in his eye.  
  
"You read too much. Soon you might read all the books in here and have to settle for the perverts books." Gai pointed over to an area behind the curtains.  
  
"I'm not a pervert Gai." Kakashi walked out of the bookstore flowed by Gai. "What's in the bag?"  
  
"My new training suit!" At that Gai pulled a green skintight suit. He grabbed Kakashi's wrist and took him to the training hall.  
  
"Gai what's the point of this. That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen." Kakashi stood outside in the hallway when Gai came running out.  
  
"This will make me the strongest person in the world! Now I can beat you Kakashi!" Gai pointed at Kakashi and started laughing. "This will be the source of all my power!"  
  
"You need to wear the chunin suit. Its kind of a must so they can distinguish between the beginners and the elite." Kakashi stared at his friend and had an annoyed tone in his voice.  
  
"I challenge you Kakashi!"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"And we shall make this interesting. Since I now have a secret source of power!" Gai did a pose.  
  
"Fine, what do you want to do?"  
  
"If I lose then I can never wear this outfit again but if I win, then you have to read one of Jaraiya-sensei's books!" Gai smiled.  
  
"WHAT! NO WAY! That stuff is nasty! He let me peak once! HE'S A PERVERTED OLD MAN!" Kakashi backed away.  
  
"Then I hope you win." At that Gai started to spar with Kakashi.  
  
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Iruka had been sent to go buy some 'real' cookies from the bakery. Iruka loved that place; the owner was a nice old woman who always gave him free snacks and the atmosphere of the place made you want to stay there forever.  
  
"Why Iruka! It's been awhile. No parents with you I see. You are just growing up into a nice young man aren't you." The woman smiled showing all her laugh wrinkles. Even if you didn't eat sweets you would have to visit just to meet this woman.  
  
"How many cookies would like?" She pulled out a bag.  
  
"I would like a 5 dozen please." The woman looked surprised.  
  
"Why so much Iruka?"  
  
"It's my mom's birthday and they are going to have friends over." He smiled brightly.  
  
"What will you be doing may I ask?"  
  
"I have to go shopping with my babysitter." Iruka's smile vanished with a huge frown on his face.  
  
"Kurenai isn't so bad now is she?" The old woman laughed as she handed Iruka the bag full of cookies. Iruka just sighed then flashed the woman a smile before he ran outside.  
  
/ Today has been a busy day. I get mistaken for a girl. Mom returns home and we threw a small party for her. I met two rude ninjas who are only a few years older than me. Man I want to take a nap and not have to go with Kuren./  
  
Iruka's thoughts were interrupted after he bumped into an object. He slowly opened his eyes to see the outline of a boy with spiky hair.  
  
"Man Iruka fancy meeting you again today. Maybe its fate." Kakashi laughed as he helped Iruka onto his feet and grabbed the bag.  
  
"Fate?" Iruka gladly took the bag from Kakashi.  
  
"Yeah see I didn't want to suffer alone so can I show you something?" Kakashi's eyes curved as he went through his pack.  
  
"Suffer? No thank you I would rather ." Iruka's eyes went wide as Kakashi pulled out a book and opened it to a certain page that showed pictures.  
  
"What do you think they are doing in this picture?" Kakashi chuckled as Iruka looked disgusted.  
  
"Pervert!" Iruka yelled and Kakashi turned the next page.  
  
Iruka's vision went black.  
  
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Well? What do you think?  
  
This is supposed to show Kakashi's and Iruka's childhood together. From when they first meet to when they are older. * makes puppy eyes * This story is also supposed to give background information about certain people and objects but that comes more obvious in the next or next 2 chapters. R&R!! Please.  
  
I'm currently working on chapter 2 so that should be out soon hopefully. The weekend is coming up soon so it should be up this weekend the latest! YAY! Tell me what you guys think so far and how I am doing. 


	2. Curiosity Kills

I do not own Naruto but then again neither do you! Unless Kishimoto is reading this than woohoo for me I got the owner reading my story!!! BOOM BABY!  
  
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Chapter 2: Curiosity Kills  
  
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"Iruka! Wake up!" A young girl pushed Iruka off the chair he was sleeping in. "Honestly Iruka! I told you here to just sit here and I have to find you sleeping! Your so lazy for a boy your age."  
  
"Kurenai! I am tired." Iruka rubbed his eyes as he started to be dragged down the street.  
  
"C'mon Iruka! We are late to our lunch with Asuma!" she yelled behind her as Iruka slowly fell asleep again with his body being dragged.  
  
Iruka, who is still in the ninja academy, has been shopping with his former babysitter Kurenai all day. Kurenai is only a few years older than Iruka and is a Genin at this time. She used to take care of Iruka whenever both his parents would leave on a mission.  
  
"Hey Kurenai! Hey Iruka!" A dark haired young teen smiled at the two figures as they walked up to him. "I hope you guys don't mind but I brought some friends with me."  
  
Asuma is also a Genin and one year older than Kurenai. He has a very laid back yet serious attitude towards life and is currently dating Kurenai.  
  
Kurenai just smiled as she flung Iruka next to the strangers and sat next to Asuma.  
  
"Hey Kurenai long time no see!" One of the friends smiled at her.  
  
"AHHHHHH!" Kurenai screamed as she saw whom the two friends were. "GAI! KAKASHI!" she looked like she was going to kill them, but Asuma held her back.  
  
Iruka slowly opened his eyes and looked at whoever she was yelling at now. He smiled as he scooted away from Gai. Gai looked a tad bit hurt but blushed.  
  
"Iruka why are you scooting away? I swear they wont hurt you." Asuma laughed as Kakashi whispered in his ear. "HAHAHA! Yeah I would scoot away too if Gai asked me out."  
  
At this Gai just glared at Kakashi mumbling something that sounded like 'it could have been anyone's mistake even Kakashi thought he was a girl.'  
  
"Gai I told you I never wanted to see you again." Kurenai glared at Gai.  
  
"C'mon guys lets eat! It's been awhile since we've seen each other. Gai, Kakashi you guys are both Jounins now right?" Asuma tried to change the subject.  
  
"But it wasn't my fault Kurenai!" Gai whined as she jumped off her seat and pointed to him.  
  
"Hey Iruka! You're in the academy right? How is the training going?" Asuma leaned forward to avoid Kurenai's arm.  
  
"Sure then the next thing you'll say is it was Kakashi who drew those perverted pictures of me last week! Bye Asuma! Call me so we can make another date." She grabbed Iruka's wrist and stomped out of the store.  
  
Asuma watched them leave as he sighed. Kurenai had just admitted she liked him and he still hadn't gotten to tell her how he felt.  
  
"I swear guys, you're making it hard for me to have a girlfriend." Asuma started to rub his temples.  
  
"But it was Kakashi you made those pictures!" Gai had comical tears rolling down his face.  
  
"Kakashi. You're going to make me take up smoking when I get older." Asuma swore under his breath before he raised his hand to the waitress to order some food.  
  
"I'm surprised she still carries Iruka with her every where even though he doesn't need a babysitter anymore." Kakashi laughed.  
  
"Old habits die hard Kakashi. It would appear she is still fond of his company." Gai stated with a sparkle from his smile before he ordered some sushi.  
  
"But I don't think Iruka is very fond of being dragged everywhere." Kakashi smiled as he listen to Asuma mumbled about how rude people can be..  
  
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"Iruka! Son, it's getting late!" Iruka's mother yelled out the door as her son ran up the street.  
  
"Sorry Mom! Kurenai wanted to blow off steam while she shopped for some new cloths." Iruka took his shoes off and ran to his room so he could change.  
  
"No one is in the bathroom if you need a shower!" Iruka's dad yelled out from the kitchen.  
  
"Thanks!" Was all his parents heard before the water turned on. They smiled at each other; this had become a daily routine since Iruka started to go to the academy.  
  
Iruka put his hair down in the shower. He was finally used to and preferred having his hair out of his face and into a ponytail. His hair had gotten longer and he would need his mom to cut it before graduation. He turned off the shower and looked in the mirror. He was 8 years old now and still had the feminine features of his mom and his small body was thin from exorcising but had started to gain some muscle.  
  
His brown eyes still were his weakness though. It was hard to hide anything from fellow ninjas and hoped that the academy exam wouldn't be a lie detector test. He grabbed a towel and opened the door to head to his room.  
  
"Gosh Iruka! You spend as much time in the bathroom as a girl." Iruka looked down the hallway to see Kakashi and Gai waving at him. His face flushed but he went into his room before anyone could say something.  
  
Kakashi and Gai often come by Iruka's house either to tease the poor boy or to bring a message from the Hokage to one of the parents. They had become Jounin recently and hadn't been coming by as often so Iruka was surprised to see them.  
  
"Gai-san and Kakashi-san you guys are welcomed to stay for dinner." Iruka's mom smiled at them as she set the table.  
  
"No we were just coming to hand your husband a message from Lord Hokage." Gai pulled out a scroll as Iruka's dad came out of the kitchen.  
  
"The Fourth Huh?" He took the scroll and read it quickly. "Okay I got the message." He ruffled Kakashi's hair causing the chunin to grunt at this sudden wave of affection from the most feared examiner in Konoha.  
  
"Well are you sure you guys can't stay? We love having company." Iruka's mom looked at them with a small affectionate smile you would give children.  
  
"Sorry we have to deliver messages to a few more people." Gai headed for the door.  
  
"Please don't give us that face we are 11 ya know?" Kakashi grunted as Gai grabbed him and they ran out the door.  
  
"Kids are still Kids!" she yelled out after them and smiled even though she never got a reply. "What was the message about? Or am I not allowed to know?" She smirked at her husband.  
  
"It was just some information about possible missing-nins being spotted around the village. They are said to be from the Hidden Mist, but the only foreigners I've seen recently are from the Grass or Cloud." He hugged his wife.  
  
"Why would you suppose the Mist is asking us to kill their missing-nins? We have enough problems of our own to deal with."  
  
"Whatever the reason I'm sure the Hokage has everything settled but we need to be careful because apparently these nins are masochist of other peoples pain."  
  
Usually missing-nins would be killed or assassinated by their own Village's hunter-nins to keep the Village's secrets safe. But unknowing to the Hidden Leaf at this time is that all the hunter-nins belonging to the Mist are after a young boy by the name if Zabuza Momochi.  
  
"Hey!" Iruka came walking in the room fully dressed in his comfortable cloths.  
  
"Iruka guess what I heard today!" His mom grabbed the food from the kitchen and set it on the table.  
  
"What?" Iruka sat down next to his dad.  
  
"Your two friends have become Jounin!" She smiled at her son, as he seemed to be happy for his companions.  
  
"Yeah I heard them talk about it at lunch earlier today. It's really exciting because they are so young even if this village is full of prodigies." Iruka smiled as his parents started the table conversation over the different talents in Konoha village.  
  
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Iruka jumped out of bed when he saw what time it was. He liked to walk around the village while it slept. It was so peaceful; Iruka was always able to clear his mind. This night he was in a rush though because he heard that two of his teachers would throw parties out in the forest this late at night.  
  
Though it most likely wasn't true, Iruka thought he should at least check since he always took walks this early anyway. By the time he made it out his window the clock read 2:00am.  
  
"Wow! It feels great outside, still chilly though." Iruka walked down the streets as he stared up at the star filled sky. "So beautiful."  
  
Iruka found himself deep in the forest before he knew it. He like to wonder in here sometimes but this was his first time there at night and even though he wouldn't admit it, he wished he had brought a friend with him.  
  
"Maybe I should have brought Gai-sensei.nah he wouldn't be into this stuff. Maybe Kakashi-sensei.but I still haven't forgiven him for showing me that book!" Iruka stiffened as he remembered the book but quickly loosened up as he went through the list of friends and why he didn't invite them.  
  
Iruka heard some noise off in the distance and saw a small glimpse of light from a fire. He quickly did the best he could to remain stealth and got up in the trees remaining very quiet as he came closer to the fire.  
  
/ Who would be out here camping? Maybe it's those foreign people I heard Dad mention to mom earlier. I've got to see who it is. /  
  
Iruka came to a huge tree where he would be able to see the people at least. He saw three men wearing dark cloaks. One of the men went to go get firewood, or that's what it looked like to Iruka, while the other two chatted by the fire. Iruka decided he could get a little closer and not be sensed so he tried to ease drop on their conversation.  
  
"I love the weather of this place don't you Ken-sama?"  
  
"Yeah, It's a shame we have to destroy the village though Rei-kun." Ken looked over at his friend.  
  
/ Destroy Konoha? / Iruka tried to backtrack his steps.  
  
"Yeah but soon we and ." Rei stopped as Iruka stopped. Iruka held his breath so that maybe he wasn't heard. He would have to go tell the Hokage about this right now.  
  
"How long has it been since you spilled blood before Ken-sama?" Rei smiled at his friend but looked up in the tree where Iruka was.  
  
/ CRAP! /  
  
Iruka was about to turn around when he saw a knife pointed as his throat. It was the third member of the group. Iruka had forgotten about him.  
  
"Why what did you catch up there Li?" Ken yelled up in the tree.  
  
"It's just a little boy my friends. A defenseless little boy." The smile that formed on Li's face gave Iruka a bad feeling and his stomach started to turn.  
  
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Kakashi put on his new uniform and waited for Gai.  
  
"Man! This uniform won't let people see the full beauty of my green suit." Gai slowly walked towards Kakashi and put his mask on.  
  
"That's something to be grateful for." Kakashi folded his arms as they started to move towards the Hokage's office.  
  
"Hey I'm going to be teamed up with Iruka's father." Gai sighed, "What about you?"  
  
"At least you don't have a prodigy, I am with Uchiha Heidaki. I heard his cousin is the heir to the Uchiha clan. I'm getting bored just thinking about it. I hope this mission tonight will be full of action!" Kakashi and Gai disappeared together and reappeared in front of the Hokage's door surrounded by different groups of Jounins.  
  
Kakashi and Gai departed from each other as the Jounin teams assembled inside the office. They were briefed that the strangers were missing-nins and that the village was going to get paid a good sum at their death.  
  
The Hokage had received information regarding the whereabouts of the missing-nins and had decided that the Jounin teams would be able to do the job with the most discretion. Normally a hunter-nin would take care of the missing few but they were currently after a more dangerous suspect.  
  
Kakashi and Heidaki had made it to the shipping department and found nothing there. The information they had received was false so they decided to disperse and search the entire city. Kakashi was about to head towards the business district when he noticed one dog going into the forest as if it caught the smell of something.  
  
/ Where is Pakkun going? /  
  
Kakashi pointed it out to Heidaki who just nodded as their squadron turned around to follow the dogs.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`' Iruka was thrown down from the tree and Ken caught him. The three men smiled at him with the same sickening grin as the gagged and tied up Iruka. Tears started to form under Iruka's eyes as he felt one of the men pull out his ponytail holder ripping out a few chunks of hair.  
  
"Don't cry little one. We just want to have some fun." Rei licked Iruka's cheek causing the boy to squirm more.  
  
The three men laughed and quickly started to get some of their stuff. Iruka was really scared he didn't know how to get out. He quickly glanced around to see if there was some way but was interrupted when he was slammed onto a tree. His wrists were tightened to the point that almost no blood could circulate and they blindfolded him.  
  
/ I'm going to die here aren't I? Oh I can't die here! I have to make a name for myself and find love. I have to revenge my innocence and hurt Kakashi for showing me that perverted book. I have to./  
  
Iruka's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something really cold touch his skin. It was so cold that it hurt as if it was on fire burning into him. Iruka couldn't see but he could feel the object on his arm going through the skin. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. The pain was the worse thing Iruka had ever felt before.  
  
Iruka tried to kick at them or squirm away from the pain but as he did the object lunged through his arm. Iruka tried to cry out in pain but the gag only let him make a sharp sounding squeal.  
  
"I thought you said this was a boy. He looks and sounds more like a girl." Rei put the object down and smiled as the blood ran down Iruka's arm.  
  
Ken grabbed Iruka's chin and stared at his face. Iruka didn't know what was going on since he was still blindfolded but he felt warm breath against his face. He tried to get out of the grip, which caused Ken to laugh.  
  
"This is a pretty one! Eh boys?" Ken let go of Iruka's face and smelled the boy's hair.  
  
"That's sick." Li smiled at Ken.  
  
"I want to know all the noises he can make." Ken smiled as his men grabbed some of their weapons.  
  
Iruka started to feel sharp stings in his other arm like needles were going into him. Li started to place Senbon* in Iruka's left arm. Ken put his weapons down and sat the watching the blood flow down Iruka's arm. It seemed the smile on his face would get even bigger with ever suppressed scream the boy made. He was interrupted though when Li started to laugh quietly.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"If I make one wrong movement the boy will lose all feeling in this arm. He would never be able to be a ninja then." Li seemed to be the only one amused.  
  
"You want to be a ninja boy?" Ken got up and pulled down the blindfold to see Iruka's brown eyes full of pain.  
  
Ken backed away from Iruka after staring in his eyes. He seemed to be in ecstasy from the pain that the boy showed.  
  
"Weakling." Rei kicked Iruka in the side before he started to head for his tent.  
  
Rei went inside of his tent and found some sake, when he came back out he looked around to see the other men gone and only Iruka tied against the tree blindfolded again. He smiled and slowly made his was towards Iruka when a kunai landed a few inched in front of him. He turned around looking in the trees but he couldn't see anyone.  
  
He looked around the ground to see if there were any signs in what direction his friends had gone but all he found was blood probably from Iruka. He felt his hairs on the back of his neck rise when he heard a footstep behind him.  
  
Rei quickly turned around to see two glowing red eyes staring at him.  
  
"When?" Rei shouted as he felt a kunai hit the back of his head. Rei fell dead to the ground, as Kakashi jumped off the branch he had been on and ran to check on Iruka while Heidaki made sure Rei was dead.  
  
"Iruka! Are you okay?" Kakashi pulled down the boys blindfold.  
  
"K.Kakashi!" Iruka started to cry again as he never had been so happy to hear his friend's voice before in his life.  
  
"It's okay Iruka-kun. I'm here now! Be still okay this is going to hurt."  
  
Kakashi pulled out the needles that were in Iruka's arm and untied his friend. Iruka gasped in pain as each needle came out slowly. If Kakashi had yanked them out then Iruka's muscles could have sustained more damage.  
  
Heidaki helped out in the destroying of the camp before some more ninjas came to take the bodies away. Heidaki left with them leaving Iruka in Kakashi's care.  
  
Iruka couldn't walk he had been so scared. He grabbed Kakashi before he let himself fall and he balanced himself using his friend. Kakashi quietly grabbed Iruka around the waist and took off for the village.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
"Iruka! What happened to you son?" His mom cried out as she answered her door to see Iruka covered in blood with marks on his face that showed he had cried. Iruka let go of Kakashi and grabbed his mom. He never wanted to leave this safe feeling again.  
  
"Kakashi! Please tell me what happened after I draw a bath for Iruka." Iruka's mom stood up with her son in her arms and slowly went in the bathroom.  
  
"We got bad advice so we were on the other side of the village when ours dogs smelt his blood." Kakashi looked down at the ground before he finished explaining.  
  
Iruka's dad had arrived shortly after Iruka was left alone in the bath. Gai had found out what happened and informed Iruka's father as fast as he could. Kakashi couldn't explain much just that Heidaki was the one who stopped the men from torturing Iruka while Kakashi was left in the branched in case there was an ambush.  
  
"Iruka? Are you okay?"  
  
"It's fine Kakashi. You can come in just stay in the changing room." Iruka's voice cracked from the crying he had just done as he heard the door shut and saw a shadow of Kakashi.  
  
"Thank you." Iruka whispered before he rested his head on the edge of the bathtub.  
  
"No problem.Iruka?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"If you want I could show you the book from three years ago. I still have it and if you read the whole thing it get really interesting!"  
  
"You can go away now Kakashi."  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
A Few Months After  
  
Iruka slowly walked down the street as he let his bag full of papers and books drag on the ground. He looked forward to see his house was a few blocks away and turned to the right as he headed for the stream. He walked about a few miles and came up to a clear blue stream.  
  
Iruka took his shirt off and looked at his reflection in the water. He had a scare on his right arm from when he was caught. His other arm on the other hand was as if nothing happened. Iruka winced as he remember the pain he had felt a few months ago but he jumped in the water before anything else could come back to memory.  
  
The water was freezing and it felt like millions of knives stabbing the body at once. Iruka gasped as he brought his head above the water. The feeling reassured him that he hadn't been dreaming. He swam towards the small waterfall a few meters away. He took his hair down and let the water hit his back.  
  
"You don't want to catch a cold do you?" A boy knelt down by the stream and sat next to Iruka's stuff.  
  
"Hey Mizuki." Iruka barely whispered before he let his body sink into the water that it had finally adapted to.  
  
"Don't sound too excited Iruka. I'm just your friend who you've been avoiding at school." Mizuki smiled then laid back on the grass. "I followed you and you didn't even sense me! What has been on your mind Iruka, maybe I can help."  
  
Iruka looked at his friend then sighed under the water. He hadn't meant to avoid anyone it just seemed more convenient. No one knew about the occurrences in the forest beside a few people and the Hokage wanted it to remain that way.  
  
The Fourth had always been so nice to Iruka's family and didn't want their lives to get any harder by having rumors about what happened to Iruka in the forest. The Fourth also told Iruka to visit The Third, the previous Hokage for advice or just someone to listen if he needed it.  
  
" Hey Iruka did you hear about the Medical Leaf Doctor?" Mizuki threw a pebble at the boy but Iruka slowly dodged it.  
  
"No. What news?" Iruka swam over to his friend so Mizuki would stop throwing pebbles.  
  
"He decided to adopt the enemies baby he found. He said that the boy would be raised as if he was a leaf! Hahaha! And they even named him Kabuto!" Mizuki laughed.  
  
"What's so funny about that?" Iruka lowered one of his eyebrows at his friend.  
  
"Just that the boy doesn't belong here Iruka. We are supposed to act like he never did anything to us when his blood is the blood of our enemies. If he is anything like his family he will want to gain power and be corrupted just like the rest of them."  
  
"He has as much as a chance betraying our Village as you do Mizuki." Iruka swam back out into the pond making his way back over to the waterfall.  
  
"Maybe your right Iruka. Maybe your right." Mizuki laid down on the grass and stared at the sky.  
  
Iruka just watched his friend for a little while than went back to his thoughts.  
  
/ Maybe I should go talk to the Third. He's retired and I'm sure wouldn't mind any company. And then I can find Gai to help me with training or should I find Kakashi.he seems to know more Justus./  
  
Iruka's thoughts were interrupted when he felt his head get push under water. He grabbed the hand and tried to pull it in the water with him but Iruka's surprise it lifted him out of the water and into the cold breeze.  
  
"Who are you trying to pull in there Iruka?" Iruka's mom glared at her child as he shivered from the touch of air around his body.  
  
"I thought you were Mizuki. Where did he go?" Iruka put his shirt back on and picked up his stuff.  
  
"I told him to go home since it was getting late. I thought I would find you here since you always wanted to play here when you were a kid." His mom looked around the trees as if she was if she was remembering every moment.  
  
"This is kind of like my spot you know? I just can rest here and remind myself that I'm who I am." Iruka smiled at his mom as they started to head off towards their home.  
  
"You know what son?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"You are very mature for an 8 year old."  
  
"Hehehe."  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
That was chapter 2!! I'm sorry Iruka I don't hate you or have anything against you it just so happened that you were the one that got captured but at least I didn't let them rape you or anything! That would be sick I mean he is only 8! There wasn't much if any KakaIru in this chapter b/c they are 8 and 11 so I was like ehhhhhhhhh nope still to young! But as each chapter progresses hehehehehehehe.  
  
Oh yeah and Heidaki Uchiha is my own creation. I keep hearing stuff about a man named Obito but I couldn't find anything about him so I decided to manipulate my own character. There really isn't anything important about him besides the fact that he is an Uchiha and Itachi's cousin.  
  
R&R!!  
  
Hope your enjoying the thanksgiving holidays!  
  
************Replies ******************  
  
Last chapter I did refer to Gai and Kakashi as sensei by accident * blushes * you see I got confused when I was trying to find out "titles" and thought that you were called sensei when you had reached chunin level but my mistake lol.  
  
About the ages.I'm not sure exactly how old everyone is to each other besides the fact that Kakashi is 26 now so I made Gai one year older and Iruka 3 years younger than Kakashi. It's just my opinion in age differences and not actual fact.  
  
About Jiraiya being the nonofficial author of the books.he seemed to be open about it in the manga so I just assumed everyone knew. If I was wrong then oopsie lol ! For some reason I just figured everyone knew.  
  
I will be covering all the incidents essential for this to be a Naruto fanfic about the past and moving to the future or aka present. I got most the information I'm using for a timeline off the internet or from the manga but if you disagree where I put it you can tell me but remember I don't own Naruto manga so I don't know where everything goes yet.  
  
I will also be adding in occurrences as you can tell from this chapter hehehe. I will also be using the more minor characters to help move the plot along such as Mizuki and etc.  
  
I was just responding and giving my readers more information so if I didn't respond to your message I'm sorry! Thank you for reviewing my story and keep continuing please! I will hopefully be able to respond to everyone's reviews next chapter!  
  
I have put it so it will allow anonymous reviews so if it doesn't work just tell me. But I would like signed reviews personally.  
  
**************** That's it for now! ******************See you next chapter!!! 


	3. Gai's Motivation

I do not own Naruto in any way but I will by any means necessary try to...hehehehehehe * smirk *  
  
This is chapter 3! Enjoy!  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 3: Gai's Motivation  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka smiled at his reflection in the mirror. He put his hitai-ate leaf headband on his forehead and tied to underneath his ponytail. Though he didn't really change in appearance by the adding of the headband, the smile seemed to grow. Iruka had finally become a genin.  
  
Iruka took one more glance at the mirror before he slipped his blue shirt on. Today was a special day in Konoha village, all the graduates would be assigned a teacher, and Iruka prayed that Mizuki would be on his team. After turning the corner and running down the hallway, Iruka found his kitchen vacant.  
  
"Oh yeah. They both got missions." Iruka laughed at himself for forgetting his parents had left after their over exaggerated goodbyes they had given.  
  
He went into the kitchen and grabbed some mix to make breakfast. He put on two mittens and an apron to keep himself from getting dirty and placed the flour and eggs in the pot.  
  
"Iruka! Let me in!" The door started to bang rapidly.  
  
Iruka ran to the door throwing off his mittens and swinging the door wide.  
  
"Mizuki!" Iruka let his friend in the house and quickly shut the door so he could go back to the kitchen. "Why are you here?"  
  
"Iruka." Mizuki blushed slightly before pointing to Iruka's chest.  
  
Iruka looked down and felt his face turn a bright red. He read 'I'm a bad Momma' with a small cartoon of a woman suggestively winking. Even if that hadn't been there Iruka would have blushed from the pink lace and frills that decorated the edges of the apron.  
  
"S.sorry. My dad got this for my mom as a joke." Iruka took off the apron and shoved it in the nearest closet.  
  
"You should probably start reading your aprons before you put them on." Mizuki smirked as Iruka ran into the kitchen. "I was wondering since your parents are out if you wanted to go get breakfast with me?"  
  
"Sorry Mizuki. I'm already making some waffles! You can stay here if you would like." Iruka put some mix in the maker and pressed it down.  
  
"Nah. I have to eat with my dad before he leaves for his mission, we were just wondering if you could join us." Mizuki waved as he headed for the door.  
  
Iruka waited for the door to close before he let out a sigh. Mizuki was most likely his closest friend and Iruka hated to be embarrassed in front of him. It wasn't long before another knock came to the door as Iruka had finally sat down to eat.  
  
"Who could it be know?" Iruka mumbled and checked to make sure he wasn't wearing any inappropriate apparel.  
  
"Hi Iruka-kun. I was wondering if any of you parents your home?" A tall teen pushed his sunglasses back and smiled.  
  
"No Ebisu-san. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help. Why are you looking for them?" Iruka felt short next to the teen but had to remind himself that this guy was a chunin and in fact a tad bit more than a few years older than Iruka.  
  
"Some of our villages shinobi have been declared missing on their way back to the village. We are just checking to see who is here and who isn't. Tell your parents to go straight to the Hokage when they get home." Ebisu smiled then headed in the direction of other shinobi homes.  
  
/ Weird. I hope mom and dad are okay. /  
  
Iruka went back to the table so he could finally eat his waffles. After he had cleaned up the mess he made in the kitchen he looked at the clock to see he would be leaving soon.  
  
/ I was told to meet my new sensei at the academy around 9 am. So I should leave in 5 minutes so I can stop by the bakery and buy a snack. /  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
An older man ran through many traps as two Anbu teams quickly followed him. They made it to an abandoned building far from the Leaf Village. He slammed the door opened and gazed upon corpses of many well-known shinobi from the village.  
  
Their bodies were mangled and had obviously been experimented on. The older man glared as he saw a pale figure's back shaking before letting out a loud laugh.  
  
"I was wondering who could have made it through my traps.only you and your lackeys" The pale figure turned around showing two gold eyes that seemed to belong to a serpent.  
  
"Orochimaru! What have you done?" A strong voice yelled at the pale creature.  
  
"Hehehe. Why sensei what does it look like?" Orochimaru smiled at the Anbu team and his old sensei that stood before him.  
  
"This is a forbidden Jitsu!" The Older man yelled. "Orochimaru, why?"  
  
"Why you ask me sensei! Why? I want the ultimate power. I want to put you to shame for choosing that blonde brat over me! I will live forever and watch this village fall!" Orochimaru threw kunai at the Anbu teams.  
  
"You are only proving my decision was right." The older man whispered before the squads attacked.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
"Kakashi! Open your door now!" The pounding on the door almost shook the whole apartment.  
  
"G.Gai? What do you want? I just got back fro." Kakashi was pulled out of his apartment.  
  
"We have to hurry! Orochimaru has been caught in espionage against the Leaf. He escaped when they found him and now the Village is on alert!" Gai briefed his friend on all that he knew about the occurrences.  
  
"What does the Fourth say?" Kakashi had finally fully awakened.  
  
"He wants you in his office now. The rest are going on patrol in groups. I don't think that would help much though because he is a legendary three- nin." Gai started to trail off and they went straight for the watchtower.  
  
Gai had left with a group of 4 other Jounins and Kakashi walked inside the Fourth's office.  
  
"Sensei.Hokage-sama you asked for me?" Kakashi looked at his old teacher who had his emotionless face staring out the window.  
  
"They call you a genius among the jounin rank. I need you to accompany Jiraiya-san. He is waiting for you at the bottom. Go!" with that the Hokage's old pupil vanished into smoke.  
  
"I'm afraid we are too late." The Fourth turned his chair around to a figure in the room.  
  
"He was my mistake. I'm sorry." The older man's eyes were filled with grief.  
  
"No one could've prevented this Third-sama." The Fourth started to head to the door, "Now I'm going to make sure no more innocent blood spills. No more of the Leaf's blood will spill by his hands."  
  
With that the Fourth was gone and the Third smiled before he disappeared. It was a long day in the village. Orochimaru had vanished taking his student Anko with him. No one knew where they went but Anko was found a month later with a cursed seal on her neck.  
  
The Hokage had managed to seal in the curse, but there always remained a fear that Orochimaru would come back again.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi glared at his calendar. It was a beautiful sunny day with nice cool crisp breeze. He slowly turned to face the window and sighed. Kakashi got up from where he was sitting and headed for the door. There was a small slam to show he had left and then the apartment was quiet again.  
  
His calendar appeared to have this day circled in a thick red marker. September 15th.  
  
"I wonder what everyone is doing today?" Kakashi said aloud to himself. It seemed that he was just about to sigh when he felt someone tap his shoulder.  
  
"Hey Kakashi! I'm not doing anything today, do you have plans?" Iruka smirked before his hitai-ate leaf headband fell on his face. He didn't tie it tight enough.  
  
It took Kakashi a while to stop laughing at his friend before they heard someone coming at a very fast speed. Kakashi seemed to get worried and pushed Iruka to the sidewalk.  
  
"Yo Gai! Why are you moving so fast?" He yelled at the green blur headed his direction.  
  
"Let's fight!" The blur stopped directly in front of Kakashi revealing it truly was Gai and he seemed to be bored. "There haven't been any missions recently so I'm bored stiff."  
  
"But the score is already 15 to 12. Plus I have plans today." Kakashi glared at his friend.  
  
"One more fight please! It won't take long I swear. We can do something simple like running a 20 kilometer dash or.or."  
  
"Flip a coin."  
  
"Yeah flip a c." Gai stopped and glanced over at Iruka. "Iruka I didn't see you there and no not flip a coin! We need to be challenged with our skills not luck!"  
  
Iruka just rolled his eyes before he sat on the ground. This would be the fourth match that Iruka would actually be able to witness. He had no doubt that Kakashi would win because all the matches Iruka had ever seen Kakashi always seemed to be the superior.  
  
"Let's play knock out." Kakashi smirked under his mask.  
  
"Knock out?" Gai and Iruka looked at him confused.  
  
"Yeah you see I'll draw a circle and the first one to get knocked out loses. It's simple and quick. Pretty much perfect since I need to get going." With that Kakashi grabbed a small stick that was on the ground and started to draw a circle.  
  
"Hey Gai. Are you sure about this? I mean you always lose when I'm around. Should I leave?" Iruka whispered to Gai.  
  
"No it's okay Iruka. I need to prove that I'm stronger and better than Kakashi in front of people." With that Gai did a pose.  
  
"Is that your only motivation?" Iruka glared at him.  
  
"Yeah what else should I be motivated for?" Gai looked confused.  
  
"I thought you guys always fought each other to train yourselves. Yeah I knew you also wanted to prove who was better but I thought it was training also." Iruka sighed.  
  
"WOW that's a great idea!" Gai beamed.  
  
"What is?" Kakashi finished the circle and joined the conversation.  
  
"I'm going to start using this as training! If I lose this match I will do 500 laps of flips around Konoha! Thanks Iruka, your right I just needed motivation to win!" Gai did a pose then ran into the circle.  
  
"But I didn't mean."  
  
"It's okay Iruka. He's an idiot." Kakashi smiled and went into the circle.  
  
To Iruka's surprised the fight didn't last long at all. In fact Gai had barely let Kakashi move before he slammed the jounin in the ground out of the circle. Iruka just stared wide eyed and prayed that wasn't his fault.  
  
"I won.I WON!!! Hahahahaha NOW IT'S 15 to 13!! Take that you gray haired wannabe!" Gai started doing a little happy dance and ran around to different areas so he can say he won. He ran back over to Iruka and grabbed Iruka's hands.  
  
"Thank you Iruka! You were right, all I need is motivation to win, and I would defeat Kakashi." He smiled and let go of the boy's hands.  
  
"Gai! I didn't mean it that way I was trying to tell you that." Iruka stopped when he noticed Gai wasn't paying attention.  
  
Kakashi the whole time picked himself slowly off the ground and stared at his rival. After he had dusted himself off he started to walk in the original direction he was going. Iruka ran up to catch up with him.  
  
"Kakashi wait for me! I am heading this way also." Kakashi slowed down his walk and they both left Gai talking to himself.  
  
"So what are your plans today Kakashi?" Iruka grinned as he thought of all the cool missions Kakashi could possibly get.  
  
"Nothing." Kakashi stated very plainly.  
  
"But you're a jounin! Don't you have some cool mission or something exciting to do today?" Iruka had disappointment in his voice.  
  
"No I asked off for today."  
  
"You can ask off? Why would you want to ask o." Iruka was interrupted when he saw a young man approach them.  
  
The man had a long ponytail and wore a hitai-ate leaf headband on his fore head. He had pale skin and dark hair. He smiled at Iruka before he glanced at Kakashi. His red eyes seemed to glow even in the daylight.  
  
"Hey Heidaki. Can I do anything for you?" Kakashi gave his older friend a bored stare.  
  
"Hey Kakashi. Sorry to interrupt but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Heidaki smirked and gave a small bow. "I didn't buy a present though.maybe I could get you some ramen next time we are on duty together."  
  
Kakashi was surprised that Heidaki remembered.scratch that he was confused on how Heidaki even knew it was his birthday.  
  
"Yeah that would be cool." Kakashi nodded receiving another smirk from Heidaki before the young man disappeared.  
  
"You're 13 now!" Kakashi turned around to see Iruka looking at the ground. "I'm sorry I forgot."  
  
Iruka felt really bad. He had known Kakashi for almost 5 years and they had been through a lot. It wasn't one of those I felt bad because you're my best friend, because in reality Iruka never told anyone everything. There was always a bad feeling that he would get hurt in the end.  
  
The feeling that Iruka felt right now was different. It felt like he betrayed the boy who saved his life. It felt like he had disappointed his parents. All of these thing he had never done in real life but this feeling seemed like it didn't matter how good he had been because he had nothing to give the boy standing in front of him.  
  
"S'okay." And with that Kakashi continued to walk in the direction he was heading.  
  
Kakashi had taken a few steps to see Iruka wasn't walking with him. He turned around to see the boy just staring at the ground.  
  
"Iruka? Are you okay?" Kakashi was about to walk up to his friend when Iruka looked up and he saw the brown eyes stare into him.  
  
"I forgot your birthday! I am the worst friend in the world!" With that Iruka took off past Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi decided to let Iruka run and watched him go away.  
  
/ Gai is the person I should be mad at. He challenged me on my birthday.and won. /  
  
Kakashi started to walk again when he realized he had no idea where he was going. He just continued to walk the direction he had originally headed towards and found himself on top of the Hokage Monument Mountain.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka found himself in the field where Gai would normally train, and sure enough there was the jounin doing several martial art attacks against a huge wooden log. He walked up and sat on the ground to watch his friend.  
  
"Something wrong Iruka?" Gai continued to hit the long but looked over at the boy.  
  
"Did you remember today was Kakashi's birthday?" Iruka hoped that he wasn't the only one.  
  
"Nope. So today is his birthday.maybe I should have let him win the match." Gai sat down next to Iruka.  
  
"Don't you feel bad? What if he hates us now?" Iruka looked over at Gai with a worried expression.  
  
"Kakashi probably doesn't really care. He doesn't do big things on his birthday and never has." Gai got up and started to kick the log.  
  
"But I feel bad. I mean he saved my life Gai! The least I could would be remember his birthday." Iruka pulled his knees close to him.  
  
"Well you do have a point." Iruka looked up like he was going to cry.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well he did save your life. Man you should feel bad Iruka." Gai smiled to show he was joking but realized Iruka wasn't taking it as a joke.  
  
"Oh man! Just kill me Gai!" Iruka ran in front of the log. "Pretend I'm the log."  
  
Gai just stared in disbelief at the boy.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi leaned forward on the railing. He had been standing on the mountain for a while watching all the villagers going on with their lives. He turned around when he felt someone's chakra.  
  
Heidaki was walking up to him and just stood there smiling at Kakashi. The red eyes were now covered by their curved eyelids showing that he was in a good mood.  
  
"Kakashi." He took a spot by the young jounin.  
  
"Hey Heidaki. Why are you in such a good mood?" Kakashi's voice seemed a little annoyed but he was glad that he wasn't alone anymore.  
  
"The Hokage sent me to give you some news." At that Kakashi smiled under his mask. It had been a while since he had seen his old sensei; he couldn't help but feel some pride whenever people referred to his sensei as Hokage.  
  
"They want you to become an Anbu. Hokage-sama said he would like your answer before tomorrow." Heidaki ruffled Kakashi's hair receiving a growl from the boy. "Hey you're a teenager now, it's about time you started getting adult jobs."  
  
Kakashi had to agree. He had been a jounin for about 2 years and had already received recognition as a genius. The Hokage knew this, Kakashi knew this, but better yet the village knew this. He sighed and leaned on the railing of the mountain again. He would say yes.  
  
"Do you by any chance know whose squad I'm going to be under?" Kakashi really didn't care but he just wanted to see.  
  
"Yeah, mine." Heidaki laughed, as Kakashi seemed to be taken back by that.  
  
Heidaki Uchiha had become leader of an Anbu squad yesterday, at the age of 20. He got to choose a jounin to add on his squad when one of the members retired. He chose the 13-year-old Kakashi Hatake, a genius of Jitsus.  
  
"Kakashi I chose you because you are the best we have now, and I know personally that you have never failed a mission. I hope you will consider the offer, Even Hokage-sama thinks you are a good choice. Tell me after you have time to think about it." Heidaki started to walk away.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Heidaki turned around and smiled at the boy. "Are you sure you don't want to think about it?"  
  
"I was going to say yes even if you weren't my squad leader." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets.  
  
Heidaki smiled again then vanished leaving Kakashi alone on the mountaintop. Kakashi looked up the sky. If that counted as a birthday present then Kakashi was happy. He glared at the setting sun realizing he had been there longer than he realized. He wanted something to do.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
"Iruka get out of the way! I need to train." Gai hit Iruka on the head.  
  
"No Gai! I have to make amends." Iruka glared at Gai who was starting to get annoyed.  
  
"I don't have time for you games Iruka-kun. Remember I'm 14 and a jounin. I could hurt you so please move."  
  
"I hope you could do more than hurt me if you're a jounin." Iruka said this in a taunting voice.  
  
"That's it Iruka! The sun is starting to set and you ruined the rest of my training today. I hope you're happy." Gai grabbed Iruka's arm.  
  
"I'm not leaving yet Gai!" Iruka tried to pull back.  
  
Gai glared at the boy and tightened his grip on the boys arm.  
  
"You are leaving now!" with that Gai picked Iruka up and started to swing the boy in the air. After Iruka started to get dizzy because Gai had sped up he let go sending the boy in the air. Gai watched Iruka fly away with a small grin on his face before he frowned. He forgot that Iruka was a genin and hadn't learned how to escape that kind of attack yet.  
  
"Crap!" Gai yelled as he ran towards the village to see if he could find where Iruka had landed.  
  
Iruka seemed to keep getting higher and higher. He looked down to see trees zooming by him before he came up on the village.  
  
"Hey that's my house!" Iruka yelled before he started to feel faint. He wasn't supposed to be able to see his house. He could die from the impact of this fall.  
  
Iruka couldn't move because of how fast he was moving. He felt his hitai- ate leaf headband start coming loose and began to worry. He tried to fix it but his body wouldn't let him so he slowly watched his headband fall to the ground and he headed toward the Hokage Monument Mountain.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi went over the rail where he could stand on the edge of the cliff. He let his arms rest at the view of the city. Kakashi had just received the most exciting news of his small lifetime and yet he felt incredibly bored all of the sudden.  
  
/ This must be because tomorrow I will be an Anbu and I just want to do one more thing as kid. /  
  
Kakashi laughed at his thought. Technically he was no longer a kid when he graduated into a genin but at the age of 5 it was very unlikely he was an adult. Kakashi thought about it. He grew up so fast because he wasn't like other kids. He didn't want to play and slack off, he wanted to grow up and make a name for himself.  
  
"Just give me something fun to do!" Kakashi cried out over the mountaintop before he noticed a figure flying towards him.  
  
He couldn't make out what the figure was because it was moving so fast but he obviously couldn't dodge it, so Kakashi prepared to catch it.  
  
He flew backwards a few meters and landed on his butt. He looked down to see Iruka.  
  
/ The man upstairs is a pervert. / Kakashi thought of what he asked for and stared Iruka.  
  
Why was this boy so cute? Kakashi messed with Iruka's bangs that were in the boys face before he realized how stiff the boy was. Iruka seemed to be stuck in a ball, but his body slowly went limp.  
  
"Iruka! Iruka! Hey come back to earth!" Iruka slowly looked at Kakashi before fell unconscious. Kakashi thought he had given the boy a soft landing but Iruka had hit his head on the ground.  
  
Kakashi picked him up and tried to think where he should go. Iruka's dad was on a mission in the Hidden Sand village, but Iruka's mom should be home. Kakashi decided he didn't want to get blamed for Iruka being in this condition and headed for his house.  
  
Kakashi saw Gai squatting on the ground with tears running down his face. Gai was staring at a hitai-ate leaf headband.  
  
"Gai? What's wrong?" Kakashi approached his rival.  
  
"I think I killed Iruka-kun!" Gai wept as he turned around to see Kakashi holding an unconscious Iruka. "He's alive!" Gai ran over to the boy.  
  
"You're the one who did this?" Kakashi glared at Gai.  
  
"Iruka was getting on my nerves and so I ." Gai decided to shut up from the look he was getting from Kakashi. "Do you want me to take him home?"  
  
"No it's okay. I'm taking him to my apartment. He should wake up soon I figured he could go home in a better condition than this after some rest." Gai agreed with Kakashi then laughed.  
  
"Sorry I forgot it was your birthday." Kakashi smiled under his mask and started to head to his place.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka opened his eyes in an unfamiliar surrounding. He sat up to see he was in someone's bed. There weren't any significant pictures in the room, just one of the Fourth with three students. Iruka looked around and saw that there really wasn't much beside a shoebox on top of the dresser. He got up and opened the shoebox to see a copy of Icha Icha paradise, some shurikens with a weird design on them, and a few other small objects.  
  
The shoebox didn't help Iruka with any questions of where he was so he went to the picture. It was the Fourth but a few years younger with two boy students and a girl student. Iruka noticed only one person but it didn't make sense.  
  
"Am I at Kakashi's place?" Iruka crept to the door and slowly opened it to see Gai and Kakashi laughing.  
  
He slowly walked to where they were trying to remain unnoticed but he knew that at least one of them knew he was there. They both stopped their conversation to look at Iruka.  
  
"Feeling better?" Kakashi gave an emotionless glare.  
  
"Yes, thank you." Iruka looked around the apartment. It was small and really only made for one person or maybe two.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka." Gai did a bow and stopped when Iruka reassured him it was okay.  
  
Iruka looked at the time and got scared. He was supposed to be home and hour ago and his mom never let him off not even if he was a minute late. He grabbed his headband form Gai and told Gai and Kakashi he would see them later as he ran towards his house. Kakashi and Gai had never seen someone move so fast.  
  
Iruka was surprised to see his mom had fallen asleep waiting for him and decided to just get his punishment in the morning. He put a blanket over her and made it to his room where he just fell on his bed to fall asleep.  
  
That day Iruka developed a traumatizing fear of falling to his death while Gai learned that motivation always helped out in competition, and Kakashi learned that when you ask for something you might get it.  
  
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'***`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'  
  
That was chapter 3!! I hope you all enjoyed it. The only thing I can really reply to from the reviews I got is that Iruka will get his scare next chapter.or the one after next.or so I have planned but you know how that works. Thank you all for reviewing, I get really motivated to write so I can see how you guys respond! So please R&R!!!  
  
* Does good guy pose * I am p-sama7!!!!! 


	4. Kakashi of the Sharingan is Born

I do not own Naruto nor have I even seen Kishimoto in person so I have not been able to steal Naruto from him. But I do occasionally run up to people who could be Kishimoto and ask them for Naruto then run away when they stare at me funny.....maybe I should stop typing heheheheheheh.  
  
Thank you for all your reviews! This is chapter 4 which I hope you like since it wasn't originally going to be a chapter but maybe a short flash back lol! Then I figured hey I'm writing about the past so I don't have to do flashbacks!!  
  
ENJOY!  
  
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Chapter 4: Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye is Born  
  
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Kakashi walked into the office. He had been sent here right when he got back from scouting and had no idea what was going on. This was pretty much the normal day in the life of a ninja.  
  
The Hokage was standing behind his desk holding a big scroll. In front of the desk stood Heidaki who was receiving instructions from the Hokage. On the right of the door stood three other Anbu waiting to be sent out.  
  
Kakashi wasn't wearing his Anbu mask or cloak; he never did when he visited the Hokage. His blue and white outfit fit the frame of his teenage body while the mask dangled from the side of his bag.  
  
"Ahh Kakashi glad to see you returned in good health." The Hokage smirked then returned to Heidaki. "I don't have time to repeat myself so you can fill him in before you set off. This mission will only take a week so I need you back here Friday."  
  
Heidaki bowed then turned to face Kakashi. The Hokage got up and left through the back door in his office followed by to other Jounins. Kakashi smiled at the other people in the room before he was briefed.  
  
They were heading to a village in the water country. Apparently the governor of a tourist village was awaiting important information from the Leaf. It was a simple get in, give the scroll, and get out with no disturbances mission.  
  
"So pack light and we will leave in 1 hour." Heidaki waited for the four members of his squad to nod in agreement before the all dispersed towards their homes.  
  
Kakashi walked up the stairs to his apartment to find three genins running around after a cat.  
  
"Stupid cat! Get back here!" The dark haired girl growled as she jumped for the feline.  
  
"Got YA!" A small boy grabbed the tail to let it slip through his fingers.  
  
"Guys I told you we need to be gentle with her or else she would run away." The familiar and reasonable voice glared at his teammates who smiled.  
  
"Sorry Iruka-kun.it's just I hate cats!" The girl pouted before she noticed Kakashi leaning on a wall with the cat on his shoulder. "Hey! Who are you?"  
  
"Sorry. Hope I didn't interrupt anything. I was just wondering why three kids were chasing Ms. Meow." Kakashi smiled as he took the cat off his shoulders. "Here Iruka-kun."  
  
Iruka blushed and took the cat from Kakashi. The other two students glared at Kakashi.  
  
"Who do you think you are? Calling us kids.pfft you don't look so much older." The boy grabbed the cat from Iruka and put in the cat-carrying cage.  
  
"And you called MY Iruka KUN! I'm the only one who can do that!" The girl ran over to Iruka and pulled him away from Kakashi.  
  
"Suzume! Guys this is Kakashi! He's my friend and he is an Anbu." Iruka pushed Suzume off him and blushed slightly at Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi enjoyed watching the genins debate whether or not he was a good guy or a bad guy. He watched them bicker for a few more minutes before he grabbed Iruka and slipped into his apartment before the other two students noticed.  
  
"K.Kakashi!" Iruka tried to yell but the Anbu covered his mouth with his hand.  
  
"Shhh.I need to pack for a mission okay. I was wondering if you could watch over my apartment while I am gone? It'll only be for a week." Kakashi slid his hand off Iruka's mouth and headed for his room.  
  
"Okay.but I need a key." Iruka caught the shiny object that was thrown at him and smiled.  
  
Kakashi didn't have to pack much. He only took some essentials and a book he was currently reading about ambushes. He left Iruka watching his apartment and Gai out of the loop. Yep, he was ready to go.  
  
[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*  
  
"You're late." Heidaki scolded as Kakashi ran to their meeting spot.  
  
"Only by one minute.you're right so lets get going." Kakashi thought twice about complaining because as a ninja being late could mean someone's life.  
  
They set out with the other three Anbu and made their way to the water country. Kakashi wasn't surprised that Heidaki's squad had been chosen but was more shocked that they actually had a week. His Anbu squad was known for it's speed in getting tasks done, this mission would probably take 4 days the most.  
  
"So are we going to take our time or just be tourist for a few days when we get there?" Kakashi smiled at the Anbu next to him. "What do you think Kazume?"  
  
Kakashi couldn't see anyone's face because they had their masks on but he knew that a few of them were smiling. Heidaki stopped the group before they took a few steps. There were signs that some groups had been fighting recently on their path. The group nodded as they split up to avoid walking on the path.  
  
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"Iruka where did you go?" Suzume ran up to him as he locked Kakashi's apartment.  
  
"Kakashi wanted to ask me some things before he left on a mission. Hey we should get going before sensei gets mad because we are taking so long." And with that Iruka started to run towards the field that he trained at.  
  
His two teammates looked at each other before they followed him. They had never seen Iruka look so happy in his lifetime and they wanted answers.  
  
Iruka started to daydream over what cool mission the Anbu squad could be on. He wanted to see Kakashi in real action and not those little competitions he has with Gai. Iruka started to try and think about what Gai in action would be like.  
  
"I wonder what your friend looks like under his mask." Suzume smiled as she caught up with Iruka. "I bet he is very cute."  
  
"Iruka should know right? He is your friend after all. What does he look like?" the boy looked at Iruka.  
  
Iruka stopped in his tracks as he never though about it before. He had known Kakashi for almost 6 years now and had never seen what he looked like without a mask. He turned pale as his friends stared at him.  
  
"I don't know." Iruka mumbled.  
  
"WHAT? You don't know and you said ya'll were friends. That would've been the first thing I did in our friendship." The boy glared down.  
  
"You can always find out when he comes back Iruka-kun." Suzume smiled at him before they found their sensei waiting for them.  
  
"Right when he gets back I'm going to find out!" Iruka declared to himself before he returned to the mission they had finished.  
  
[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*  
  
"What do you mean he isn't here?" Kakashi glared at the secretary who started to tremble.  
  
"I'm sorry but he didn't think you would be here till tomorrow. He had a meeting with another village but he will be back tomorrow." The lady grabbed some papers and started to organize them.  
  
"Well we will just have to wait until tomorrow then." Heidaki said this letting the secretary sigh in relief that they were leaving.  
  
"No need. If you want you can give me the scroll and not have to bother coming back." A mysterious man walked in the room.  
  
The man had a suit on and spoke with superiority. He looked like an advisor or a business partner.  
  
"No I think we will wait." Heidaki stared at the man then at his squad who seemed to agree.  
  
"Oh! But Mr. Gatou is our vice president. He can be trusted with any business pertaining to the village." The secretary smiled at the thought of not having to see the Anbu squad at all.  
  
"No offense to Mr. Gatou but we will obey our orders." Heidaki bowed then headed out the door.  
  
"That was weird." The Anbu to the left of Kakashi stated while removing his mask. "But it looks like we are tourists until tomorrow."  
  
"I don't trust him Kazume and I Morino Abate am a good judge of character." The only female Anbu of the squad took her mask of as they entered the hotel they would be staying at.  
  
"What do you think Kakashi? Daisuke?" Heidaki smiled at the two quieter members of the group.  
  
"I don't know enough about the situation of the village but if its something bad I have to guess this Gatou is behind it." Daisuke nodded.  
  
"Who cares? Now we need to do something to take up our time." Kakashi stretched out and laid on the sofa in their room.  
  
"I saw a bar here when we first entered." Abate smiled and ran to the restroom to change.  
  
"YAY!" Daisuke and Kazume both cheered.  
  
"But I'm not old enough!" Kakashi looked at his teammates then sighed. He hated being so young sometimes.  
  
"Don't worry Kakashi, I don't drink." Heidaki sat down next to Kakashi as they watched the other three members wave bye.  
  
"Let's go get something to eat." Heidaki patted Kakashi on the knee and started walking to the door. Kakashi smiled as he followed.  
  
Kakashi enjoyed eating out with Heidaki mainly because his friend would always pay and because they never got to chat much on the job. After finding a small ramen stand they ate and chatted about things that friends would normally talk about.  
  
"This Iruka is the boy I saw you with on your birthday, yes?" Heidaki slurped another noodle.  
  
"Yeah. He might be young but he has been through a lot." Kakashi smiled as he started to drink the juice that was left over.  
  
"I knew I recognized him! He's that boy who was being tortured in the forest when we first met." Heidaki started to trail off when he saw that Kakashi didn't really want to talk about that. "Something the matter Kakashi?"  
  
"No.well yeah. Me and Iruka have been friends but he never really talks to me, or anyone at that matter. Sometimes I think that he is just trying to hide everything which is going to be hard to deal with when he gets older." Kakashi sighed.  
  
"You're a good friend Kakashi." Heidaki pat his companion on the back, "Some things though.you aren't able to control and all you can do is watch it happen. Just be there for him if he needs anything, that is my advice."  
  
"Thanks." Kakashi laughed.  
  
"So.why do we always find our way to talk about this Iruka-kun of yours?" Heidaki smirked as Kakashi thought about the question.  
  
"He's just so.I don't know. He just always finds a way to get on my mind." Kakashi glared at the wall that was in front of him.  
  
"You're too young to know you swing that way Kakashi!" Heidaki smiled as Kakashi glared at him now.  
  
"I didn't say that."  
  
"But you did."  
  
"No. I only said that I cared."  
  
".About him. You care; also known as love; about him" Heidaki paid the vendor before he stood up to leave as Kakashi tried to hit him.  
  
"Stop putting words in my mouth. Iruka is my friend and that's it." Kakashi glared at the Uchiha who ruffled his hair. "Don't mess with my hair I hate that."  
  
"I know but you remind of a little brother. Hey! That's an idea; we are now brothers. What do you say?" Heidaki smirked as he continued to walk around the town.  
  
"Brothers." Kakashi smirked under his mask and followed his 'brother' into the next store.  
  
Kakashi admired the small store and all of its weird devices when he spotted a back room. The room appeared to be a mini casino for tourists who were bored of shopping. Kakashi looked at the few people in the room when he spotted a blonde woman standing next to a dark haired woman holding a pig. The blonde woman didn't seem to mind losing her money as the dark haired lady looked like she was on the verge of crying.  
  
"Hey Heidaki I think we found someone famous." Kakashi grabbed Heidaki's attention and went into the room.  
  
The blonde slowly left the table with a small smile of disappointment before she looked up to see Kakashi and Heidaki heading towards her. She squinted then recognized the uniforms they had on. She gave a cocky smile before she approached them.  
  
"Hey brat!" She leaned down a bit so she could smile at Kakashi's masked face.  
  
"Tsunade-sama.you look younger." Kakashi gave her a bored stare before the dark-haired girl approached them.  
  
"Kakashi? Wow you got bigger since the last time I saw you, and you're an Anbu. Maybe you really were a genius." The girl smirked before she looked at Heidaki. "Who are you?"  
  
"Who cares? It was nice seeing members of the Leaf again now if you don't mind we are on our way." Tsunade turned around and headed out the door.  
  
The dark haired lady smiled then gave Kakashi a card that said which hotel they were at. Then bowed at Heidaki as an apology then followed Tsunade out the door.  
  
"Was that one of the legendary three-nins?" Heidaki looked down at Kakashi as the boy put the card in his pocket.  
  
"Yeah I knew I recognized them. Oh well.where to next?"  
  
Both Anbu laughed as they headed out the door. Kakashi had a brother now. Though they were not related, the bond that these two boys shared was one of really close family. They knew everything about each other, it is almost sad that this happiness was never meant to last long.  
  
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"Why are we meeting him at his private house and not his office?" Kazume mumbled under his mask as the Anbu team went quietly through the forest.  
  
"Guys I need you all to remain quiet and follow the guidelines if you see anything suspicious. I have a bad feeling so all of us need to be on alert." Heidaki glared at his squad under his mask before he led them through the route they decided to go on.  
  
The squad went through the forest for about 5 miles without making a sound when the Anbu at the rear suddenly stopped and fell over.  
  
"Abate?" Heidaki appeared over her and checked her vitals to see she was dead. He quickly flung around to warn his squad. "Ambush!"  
  
Two rough looking assassins appeared before them with smiles glued to their faces. "I thought you were the Leafs most prized Anbu squad. To think you didn't even sense us. What a joke!" The purple haired assassin taunted the team.  
  
The fight started when Daisuke found out that his beloved Abate was dead. He headed for a head on attack and threw several kunai at the two assassins. They pulled out their swords and blocked the assault. The Anbu squad jumped in and the leaves of the forest flew everywhere. The Anbu squad should have been able to over power two assassins but these assassins weren't to be taken lightly.  
  
Daisuke was the next to go down. Then Kazume when the other assassins countered his Nin jitsu. The forest became full of action. Weapons flying, people moaning in pain when they went down or were injured, and laughter resounded from the purple haired assassin as each Anbu fell.  
  
Kakashi was able to block the sword of the other assassin but wasn't able to block the dagger that hit his mask. He screamed in pain blood went down his neck. He quickly jumped to a tree to see if he could spot a weakness.  
  
Heidaki had gotten an arm wound when he tried to save the other members of his squad but was still able to hold his own against the purple haired assassin. He threw the assassin back into the trees and watched Kakashi attack the other one. Kakashi went straight forward as a sword hit his back.  
  
A puff of smoke formed revealing Kakashi had used substitution and the assassin felt cold steel across his neck. Kakashi let the dead body fall when he saw the other assassin over him. It was too late he wouldn't be able to dodge. Kakashi watched the sword go down and waited for his end hoping Heidaki would still be able to complete the mission.  
  
Nothing.  
  
No death.  
  
Kakashi was surprised to see Heidaki over him. His brother had taken the blow.  
  
"No!" Kakashi yelled as saw the sword go straight through his brother's chest.  
  
"Don't let this be.the first thing you fail.Kak." Heidaki's body went limp as Kakashi stared in horror.  
  
The young man who Kakashi had grown to love as a brother was dieing before him, and all he could do was watch. Kakashi felt anger surge through his body as he glared at the assassin who was smiling in ecstasy from the blood he spilt.  
  
Kakashi grabbed the sword of the assassin he had killed and held it in the air. The assassin smiled and did the same. They went charging for each other. All Kakashi could think about was the dreams that had been shattered before his eyes.  
  
Heidaki Uchiha. At the age of 21 was hoping to be able to be the next legend of Konoha Village. He wanted his younger cousin Itachi to grow up to be the best heir to his clan the village had ever seen. Heidaki wanted to marry his girlfriend and have three children who would grow up to be great shinobi. At the age of 21 Heidaki Uchiha died protecting his friend he considered a little brother.  
  
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Kakashi walked up to the village. Blood ran down his face and he was carrying the body of his squad leader. Some of the tourists saw this and ran to the nearest store as they watched the battered teen drag the corpse.  
  
"Kakashi!" The dark haired girl ran to him as the pig in her hand squealed. "What happened?'  
  
"I need to take this to the governor." Kakashi held a scroll tightly in his hands before he collapsed as the girl caught him. She did a few symbols with her hands as they turned into a puff of chakra smoke.  
  
The dark haired girl cleaned up all the blood on Kakashi before she laid him down on the bed. She ran to go get Tsunade and told her what she thought had happened. Tsunade inspected the body before her face went grim as if she didn't want to know what she had found out. He would lose his left eye.  
  
The dark haired girl took the mask off the corpse Kakashi had been carrying and inspected his eyes. Tsunade knew what the girl was thinking.  
  
"What if he can't handle the stress of the Sharingan eye? It uses a continuous amount of chakra. His body could reject it and he could die." Tsunade looked down at her companion.  
  
"This will have to work." The dark haired girl whispered as she took her needles to the corpses face.  
  
[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*  
  
Kakashi stopped at the entrance of his village. He smiled at the view of his home, where people knew him. He put his hand over his left eye and winced from the pain he still got from it even though it was covered with an eye patch and his forehead protector.  
  
The Hokage stared at the teen that had just entered his office.  
  
"The mission was completed and I am back on time. You said Friday right?" Kakashi let his one eye stare at his former sensei.  
  
"You're a stubborn brat Kakashi. I sent three other teams when I found out what happened and gave you two weeks of bed rest because of that surgery." The Hokage stood up from his chair and put his hand on his former student's shoulder. "I'm sorry about what happened."  
  
Kakashi just nodded as he slowly felt a tear roll down his cheek. This was the first time Kakashi had ever cried (except when he was a baby) and the Hokage let the boy sob on his shoulder. Kakashi was a strong ninja but even the dead needed to be mourned.  
  
"I want you to stay in bed for two weeks." The Hokage ordered as Kakashi nodded, then left.  
  
Kakashi walked down the streets to come up to his house. His house seemed cleaner then when he had left it, he had noticed this right when he entered. Kakashi was happy to be home and slowly made his was to his room when he heard the sound of someone sleeping.  
  
Kakashi turned around slowly to see Iruka fast asleep on his couch. The boy had his hair down over his face and was wearing an outfit you would normally wear for spring-cleaning. Kakashi laughed because he had forgotten he left his place in Iruka's care while he was gone. He walked over to the boy and nudged him.  
  
"Iruka.Iruka.wake up Iruka-kun." Kakashi smiled when he saw how peaceful Iruka looked and decided to let the boy be.  
  
He walked over to his room and threw his cloths off as he entered his restroom. He let the hot water of the shower fall on his body but kept his head clear since the patch wouldn't be able to get wet for a while. He stayed there for about half an hour before he got out and put some of his pajama pants on and a turtle neck sweater to cover his face if Iruka woke up. He was about to get in his bed so he could sleep when he saw someone enter his room.  
  
"Kakashi! Welcome back!" Iruka went over to him and seemed worried when he saw the eye patch. "What happened? I heard that."  
  
Kakashi stopped the boy from talking by putting his hand over the boy's mouth. He smiled under the cloth of his turtle neck and fell back on his bed to show Iruka he was tired and wanted to talk about it later. Iruka smiled with a worried expression and watch Kakashi slowly go to sleep.  
  
/ This is my chance! I can see what he looks like under his mask since he is so tired and probably wont notice. /  
  
Iruka crawled onto the bed very slowly so not to wake Kakashi up. He made it to where he was over the Anbu and put his hand gently on the cloth. He slowly started to move the cloth when he saw Kakashi open his eye and glare at him.  
  
"What are you doing Iruka?"  
  
"I was.I was just che." Iruka was cut off when Kakashi flipped him over so Kakashi was on top of him with his one eye staring down at him. "I want to know what you look like without your mask." Iruka whispered very quietly.  
  
Kakashi had his body in between the boy's legs and had his hand holding down Iruka's wrists. He smiled to himself when he saw the position they were in but then looked down at Iruka who stared straight back at him. The brown eyes showed curiosity and worry over the Anbu.  
  
"What do I get in return?" Kakashi smirked down at Iruka who was trying to think of something.  
  
"What?"  
  
"If I let you see my face you have to give me something."  
  
"I will give you.anything you want. Now let me see." Iruka smiled at his answer and was happy to see Kakashi let go of his wrists.  
  
Kakashi put his hands over the turtle neck and pulled the cloth down to reveal his smile to his small friend. Iruka lifted his hands and traced Kakashi's facial features. Kakashi started to blush slightly at this and grabbed one of Iruka's hands.  
  
"There is nothing wrong." Iruka looked confused as he stared at Kakashi.  
  
"Was there supposed to be?" Kakashi glared down at Iruka.  
  
"Yeah actually no. Gai told me that you had burned the bottom of your face off in a freak accident." Kakashi seemed to be annoyed at that and sighed.  
  
Kakashi was about to say something when he heard the front door of his house open and close. The figure seemed to be making it's way to Kakashi's room when Gai entered the room. Gai looked at the two boys at the bed, then at the position they were in.  
  
"Never mind." And with that, Gai left Kakashi's house with a confused Iruka.  
  
Iruka smiled because he had finally seen Kakashi's face and traced it one more time with the hand Kakashi hadn't grabbed when he remembered.  
  
"So what do you want since I got to see your face?" Iruka tried to think of things he could suggest when he felt Kakashi's lips press against his.  
  
Kakashi smiled as Iruka's eyes went wide. Kakashi let go and crawled off the boy so he could finally take a nap. Iruka just stared over at his friend with millions of questions going through his head.  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka whispered causing his friend to turn over and face them so they would be staring at each other.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Never mind. Get some rest I'll see you later." With that Iruka jumped off the bed and left the room.  
  
Kakashi stared at the ceiling after he heard his front door shut signifying Iruka was going home. He remembered the mission and all that happened. He put his hand over his eye patch and wondered how he would explain it to Iruka or Gai.  
  
He sighed before sleep caught up to him and his eyes shut. His last thought on how he hoped Heidaki would have been okay with the operation, after all Kakashi now had his Sharingan eye.  
  
[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*  
  
This was chapter 4!  
  
What will happen next chapter? The Nine Tails Demon Fox!!!!!!!  
  
[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*'REPLIES [_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]*[_/\_]  
  
Bishiehuggler: Yeah Iruka definitely is cute with a scar.but did you know that Kishimoto originally created Iruka without one? And I don't know what beta-reader is.if that means some one I could get to read my stories before I put them on then I'm game!  
  
IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE MY BETA-READER THEN JUST EMAIL ME!! OR INSTANT MESSAGE ME!!  
  
JadeDragoness: Thanks (If anyone is looking for another great Naruto fanfic I suggest 'Birthday Present' by JadeDragoness! It's a great story! I have become addicted!)  
  
Iceheart19: when I said "is a legendary three-nin" I meant there were more legendaries but he was one.but I can definitely see what your saying so I will try to be more careful *blushes due to slight embarrassment * and I had no clue what to call the third so thank you for that information lol.  
  
Sonha: I hope I haven't made Iruka too angsty.* starts to worry over whether she should change the categories of the story to romance/angst. *  
  
SquirrelOfShadows: lol thanks I'm glad see fellow glompers!  
  
Chronic-fever: Thanks for being straightforward!! I hope you like it till the end.  
  
Muchacha: I decided to let Gai and Kakashi kind of be on their own.I don't know anything about their parents but I figured since they are advanced starting at such a young age they would be able to take care of themselves ya know!  
  
Kami Beverly: Me hentai...nooooo of course not * snickers * I am as innocent as the person next to me.which doesn't say a lot since there isn't anyone next to me lol  
  
Morien Alexander: Iruka-kun is definitely sweet and innocent but will he always be that way? Bum bum buuummm question of the day lol yeah I feel bad for Iruka-kun when his parents die..*tear * and thanks for reading  
  
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Please R&R!!!! 


	5. Konoha's worst day

I do not own Naruto and I wish soooo much that I did, because I would auction off the characters to their fans! * Pictures poor Iruka running away from a mob of fan girls *  
  
This is Chapter 5 woohoo! Sorry it took so long! Thank you for all your reviews, those who did, and thank you for reading my story all of you!  
  
Replies  
  
Bishiehuggler: Yeah thanks about the beta-info but my twin saw this and got mad so I promoted her to my beta-reader lol...........not that much is going to change hehehe. Heidaki is one of my favorite Japanese names even though it isn't spelled the traditional version. I pretty much thought him up out of the blue. Yeah I feel bad for Iruka and Kakashi also but at least they have each other.  
  
Morien Alexander: *takes the cookie* YAY!! Hehehehe Iruka might lose a lot more than his innocence *laughs evilly* just kidding! Thanks you!  
  
Darkness: Yeah it was hard to choose a reason for Kakashi's facemask but I'm glad I came up with that. *does happy dance* The kiss will be more explained in later chapters but not too much later lol.  
  
Silent Bob: I'm glad your enjoying it!!  
  
sawdust monster: and there shall be even more!!!!!! *laughs*  
  
TheTrueSilver: Iruka-baby is always cute lol THANKS  
  
Iceheart19: Yeah I read the special and I loved it! You'll see why Iruka didn't blush! His thoughts on the kiss are???..Iruka what are your thoughts?  
  
Iruka-kun "I want to know why he took my first kiss!!"  
  
p-sama7 "And there you go!"  
  
Muchacha: Well I know they might be a little young but then I got my first kiss when I was 7 so I was like well they are older than that so HAHAHA! But if I held off the kiss any longer the plot would have taken a few steps back.......... I wish I didn't have to write about the nine tails and poor Iruka-kun but cuddling is my way of making up for it lol!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
  
Chapter 5: Konoha's Darkest Day  
  
  
  
"Hokage-sama, I am pleased to announce your wife will be having her child in a few weeks. She was moved into the hospital this morning and she can't wait to see you." Kakashi yawned as he told the Hokage the news.  
  
"Thank you Kakashi. I have a special task for you." The Hokage handed Kakashi a scroll before he smirked signaling that the teen could leave.  
  
Kakashi itched his forehead protector as if he was scratching his eye as he sat down in a tree. The scroll stated that Kakashi would be going to find four representatives from the dominant clans of the Hidden Leaf and escort them to the Fire countries yearly meeting.  
  
Kakashi sighed as he thought of all the boring things the people would talk about at those meetings. The meetings were mainly to make sure no one was causing havoc in the fire country but Kakashi still thought they were pointless.  
  
Kakashi looked down from the branch he was sitting on and watched small children play and run around in circles. He watched this with a small smile hidden under his mask for about 15 minutes before he decided to head off to his escorting job.  
  
The first clan Kakashi would some to would be the one that respected and despised the jounin all at once. The Uchiha clan wasn't known for being to kind to those they considered weaker and felt superior over those who did not possess their bloodline that contained the Sharingan eye, so when Kakashi gained the power of the Sharingan eye; though he only had it in one eye; the clan could never make up its mind about the teen.  
  
"I'm here for a representative of your clan. I'm sure the Hokage told you I would be here." Kakashi bowed to the Uchiha elder who waved for a boy to go over to Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi stared down at the boy not knowing what to expect first but just stared down at the kid who was about 9 glaring up at him. So this was the heir to the Uchiha clan the infamous Itachi.  
  
"He is our representative." The elder spoke leaving a dumbfounded Kakashi in the room with Itachi surrounded by a few bodyguards over the boy. Kakashi sighed and waved for the boy to follow him.  
  
The next on the clan list would be the Hyuga clan. Kakashi always enjoyed watching the style techniques of this clan because they could make what appeared to be a simple hit be a vital assault against your body. Kakashi walked up to the gates with Itachi behind him to meet a man waiting.  
  
"I presume you are our escort?" The man's milky glare was mesmerizing and yet creepy all the same. Kakashi nodded.  
  
"I am Hiashi." The older man shook bowed, as did Kakashi and Itachi. His twin brother and bodyguard Hizashi accompanied Hiashi. They both seemed to be amused when they saw Itachi but quickly got on their way to the next clan.  
  
"I am Akimichi Chomaru and I will be representing the Akimichi clan." All the present clans bowed as the big man got behind the Hyuga clan.  
  
The Akimichi clan was noted for it's multi-sized no jitsu which would let the ninja become the size of a three story house if needed. Kakashi liked this clan for it's friendly attitude towards everyone that was friendly back. Kakashi also made a mental note about how it seemed everyone in the clan was bulky.  
  
The next clan on Kakashi's trip was the Inuzuka clan, they were known for their heightened senses and canine counter parts. This clan trained many of the Anbu dogs.  
  
"Hey Kakashi-san!" Another young man came up to Kakashi and gave him a short hug. "I get to be the representative for my clan today. Come Komaru!"  
  
A huge dog approached the group and followed his master to the end of the line. Kakashi enjoyed the various people in the group and could see why all of them were chosen to represent whether if it was because they were the heirs to their clan or if it was because they were part of the main family.  
  
The last clan was located in the forest region of the Hidden Leaf Village. They were known for being the host bodies for insects. The Aburame clan.  
  
"And who do I get the honor of escorting from this clan?" Kakashi did a small bow to chow respect to the elders before a young woman came to him wearing sunglasses and a scarf that covered some of her face.  
  
Kakashi made sure he had all the 5 dominate clans and lead the way to the council meeting. The meeting itself took about three hours and to Kakashi's surprise the only one from Konoha whom seemed interested in the whole ordeal was Itachi.  
  
/ Weird kid. /  
  
"Hey Kakashi! Where have you been?" Iruka sat down on the ground near the bottom of the tree.  
  
"Well I babysat a few diplomats of various ages, then I got to escort a family of refugees across to the Hidden Cloud Village but we were attacked three times." Kakashi sat comfortably of the branch of the tree as he continued to write stuff down on his notebook.  
  
"Sounds exciting. What are you writing?" Iruka leaned his head on the trunk of the tree so he could see Kakashi.  
  
"I'm creating my very own attack, I think if I learn enough attacks I would be able to create my own with out flaws." Kakashi yawned as he closed his notebook and jumped off the branch so he could sit next to his friend. "Anymore questions?"  
  
"Nope, I think I've had my fill for today." Iruka laughed as one of his bangs fell into his face.  
  
Kakashi pulled the bang behind Iruka's ear causing the boy to blush. Iruka watched Kakashi with his brown eyes absorbing every move his friend made. Kakashi looked over at Iruka when he felt the boy staring at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing." Iruka turned around as his face turned another shade of red.  
  
"What are you thinking about? Tell me." Kakashi seemed to be amused as he smirked under his mask.  
  
Iruka looked like he was about to say something then stopped. He stared at his friend before he placed his hand on Kakashi's forehead protector.  
  
"Does it hurt?"  
  
"Sometimes." Kakashi moved Iruka's hand off his protector and let his one eye glare at the boy. "What is on your mind? Normally I would just let this slide but you have to let me in the loop once in a while Iruka."  
  
"W....w...why....." Iruka tried to say something but kept stuttering. Kakashi finally grew tired of the boy trying to say what was on his mind and pushed him against the ground.  
  
"Spit it out Iruka!"  
  
"Why did you kiss me?" Iruka blurted out as he tried to wiggle free from being under his friend.  
  
Kakashi blushed slightly at this and got off his friend. He wasn't expecting such a straightforward question from Iruka. He stared in front of him and tried to think.  
  
*Kakashi's thought*  
  
Why? Why did I kiss him?  
  
Because you like him! NO DUH!!!  
  
Since when?  
  
............  
  
That's what I thought; oh crap he's staring at me again!  
  
That's why. Look at him, you like everything about him, you might even say you lov.......  
  
*End*  
  
"Kakashi? It's a simple question. I would hope you would have an answer and a real one." Iruka let Kakashi look into his eyes and didn't waver.  
  
"I kissed you Iruka....because I think....no I am....... you see........ I wanted....." Kakashi sighed. "I blame it all on hormones!"  
  
Kakashi smiled as Iruka glared at him.  
  
"Hormones? I lost my first kiss due to hormones!" Iruka looked at the sky as if he had lost hope.  
  
"You'll understand when your older Iruka-kun." Kakashi patted his friends back the watched the clouds.  
  
It wasn't long before Kakashi got a glint in his eye with an idea. He smiled evilly under his mask as he scooted closer to Iruka. Iruka noticed this and backed away from his friend trying to see what he was up to.  
  
"That happened a long time ago Iruka. What brought up the courage to ask me now?"  
  
Iruka thought about it and crinkled his face to show he didn't like the answers his head was giving him. Kakashi scooted to where Iruka was trapped against the tree and placed his hands beside the genin so escape would have been futile.  
  
"Do you want another?" Kakashi purred against the genin.  
  
Iruka gasped at the thought and tried to escape. His face going on the edge of permanently red when Kakashi placed a cloth covered kiss on his lips. Iruka was about to die. He pushed Kakashi off him finally able to move and he squirmed away so there would be a good distance between them.  
  
"See hormones!" Kakashi grinned as Iruka just stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"K...Kak...Kakashi! I can't believe you just did that!" Iruka picked up his stuff and backed away from his friend.  
  
Kakashi just smiled as he saw Iruka walk away as if he was about to have a heart attack. Kakashi slowly stood up from where he was and looked over the horizon. The sky was a bloody red color that Kakashi had only seen in his nightmares. It gave him chills as if something bad was about to happen.  
  
"Mom! Dad! Where are you?"  
  
Iruka ran down a dark tunnel that never seemed to end. Iruka looked around his surroundings and felt chills go down his spine.  
  
"Someone?"  
  
Iruka whispered as his voice cracked. He hugged his arms to warm his body from the breeze that blew down the tunnel. Iruka saw a glint of red and ran towards it. He kept running until he came to a lake of bright red blood and saw his parents standing over it.  
  
Iruka tried to get over to them but there was no way around the lake. He stared at his parents who seemed to be smiling and waving at him to come join them. Iruka started to get in the lake to he could swim over when a huge beast emerged from the water. Iruka looked up at the beast and trembled, and then he looked over at his parents who just stood there and kept waving for him to join them.  
  
"Run! Hurry!"  
  
Iruka yelled but they seemed to not be able to hear him. The beast turned to where his parents were and smiled down at them. Then it smashed its fist in the area where they were standing causing their blood to join the lake.  
  
Iruka stared in horror as he saw his parents die. He looked up at the beast as it made it's way towards him. Iruka's feet were in the lake as he tried to retreat but it seemed that the lake started to grow. Iruka watched the beast come near him as the water made it above his head.  
  
He was surround by darkness.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Pain.  
  
Death.  
  
Iruka jumped up causing him to fall off his bed. He grabbed his shirt and could feel his body sweating. He looked around the room to see nothing had been disturbed.  
  
"It was just a dream." Iruka sighed to himself in relief.  
  
He got out of his sweat soaked bed and made his way to the bathroom across the hall. When he opened the door he could hear noise in his living room and saw the light was on. He slowly crept so he could see what was going on. Iruka saw his parents grabbing their weapons and preparing for what looked like a war.  
  
"Mom? Dad?" Iruka walked out of the hallway so they could see him.  
  
His parents smiled at him and his mom ran up to give him a hug. She seemed worried but then went back to her weapons.  
  
"Iruka...we need you to stay here and be a good young man okay." Iruka's Mom's voice seemed to get serious.  
  
"Where are you going?" Iruka started to worry when he remembered his dream.  
  
"Our Village is under attack Iruka and we are going to defend it. Now go back to bed and we will see you in the morning." Iruka's Dad finished what he was doing and hugged his son.  
  
Iruka didn't really register what was going on but he knew he didn't like it because of the way his stomach cramped up when he saw his parents leave. They would be okay; they had been in many battles so they would be okay.right?  
  
Iruka ran to his room and put on his cloths and grabbed his weapons he got when he graduated to a genin. He would make sure his parents would be okay and with that he ran out the door in the direction he saw the red glow coming from.  
  
Iruka was passed by many ninjas as he tried to go unnoticed so no one would make him go home. He grabbed his kunai when he passed by dead and mutilated bodies. The red glow from the forest seemed to light up Iruka's path as he ran to the battleground.  
  
Iruka's eyes widened as he saw a huge beast growl and swing its tails at the coming shinobi. The beast gnarled bodies in his mouth and slammed his head at groups he considered a threat. His eyes pierced through Iruka's brown eyes, as they seemed to stare at each other.  
  
Iruka quickly composed himself together and stared at the crowd of ninjas who were shouting out orders. Iruka covered the crowd several times and couldn't spot anyone familiar. His stomach sank as he scanned the crowd a third time. It wasn't until he heard his father shouting that he looked at the crowd located beside the fox.  
  
His eyes lit up in relief as he watched his father battle the demon. It wasn't long before Iruka saw his mom charging at the beast. Iruka saw the beast turn around to where his parents were fighting and let out a huge howl piercing the boy's ears. Iruka ran to his parents near the fox and lunged towards the fox as it howled and kicked the boy.  
  
Iruka opened his eyes and sat up as the fox lunged it head at Iruka's parents who braced for the attack. He stood up and ran to them hoping that maybe he could protect them when the mouth opened and took his parents away.  
  
Iruka stared at the fox and watched his parents disappear into the darkness. Tears started to run down his face as he tried to go to the fox again. The fox growled and moved around causing all the attackers to fall back. Iruka felt several piercing object fly pass him and could feel blood run down his face.  
  
Iruka started to run towards the fox again when he felt someone's arm wrap around him and pull him away in retreat. Iruka tried to fight but the shinobi grabbed him and continued to go away from the fox despite the boy's shouts.  
  
Kakashi was on duty when he heard it coming. He saw the red glow approach the village and sent two scouts to see what it was as he ran to find the Hokage. Kakashi found the Hokage awake and studying in his office.  
  
"Something is coming!" Kakashi yelled out as he waited for the scouts to return with their info.  
  
Only one scout came back with many cuts as he told the Hokage what happened. It wasn't long before the whole village was on alert and ninjas came to hold the beast back waiting for the Hokage to come up with a plan.  
  
Kakashi tried many of the attacks he knew but nothing seemed to affect the beast that much. His Sharingan was revealed as he tried to come up with a way to defeat the fox or at least save more lives. Kakashi saw Gai in the distance fighting the fox and pulling away his fellow shinobi before they got killed.  
  
The battle seemed to be endless. Nothing was being accomplished except for they had finally stopped the fox from continuing to the village. Kakashi stopped when he saw a familiar form running to the battle.  
  
"Iruka!?!" Kakashi yelled trying to confirm his fear.  
  
He saw the fox was moving in Iruka's direction and ran as fast as he could to save the boy. He grabbed Iruka's chest and pulled him away before the fox took the boy away. Kakashi couldn't hear anything the boy was yelling as he carried him out of the battle.  
  
While Kakashi was going as fast as he could to go take the boy to a shelter and go back to the fight he heard a noise. Kakashi tried to distinguish it from the fight since it didn't seem to fit and he swore it was a baby.  
  
Kakashi turned around as he saw a golden glow consume the red. Kakashi held his breath at the beautiful sight not realizing Iruka had fallen unconscious in his arms. The baby cried out as the demon became quiet and the glow disappeared. The forest became silent as Kakashi felt Iruka's breath.  
  
He quickly turned back to take the boy to the shelter. He felt a chill go down his spine as he passed the Hokage's office.  
  
"Yondaime..." Kakashi whispered hoping that the Hokage would be okay.  
  
It wasn't long before Konoha discovered their Hokage had died sealing away the demon fox into a newborn baby. Many lives had been lost leaving parents mourning over their children, widowed men and women trying to raise their children, and children without parents.  
  
"Iruka?"  
  
"Hn?" A small figure on a bed turned over.  
  
"Where...that scar...were you at the battle?" The small girl leaned over the bed so the boy could see her face.  
  
"Suzume? Hey. I hope I didn't worry anyone. Where am I?" Iruka looked around the white room he was in. "How long have I been here?"  
  
The girl looked down at the ground before she looked up Iruka trying to hold back tears in her eyes. Iruka decided she wouldn't be the person to ask and tried to get out of his bed when something registered.  
  
"What scar Suzume?"  
  
"The one..." The girl grabbed Iruka's hand and walked him over to the mirror located in the room.  
  
Iruka put his hand across his nose tracing the scar that lay there. He didn't remember getting cut that deep. Iruka's eyes slowly began to cloud as he tried to remember the battle and his parents but he came back to reality when Suzume grabbed his arm.  
  
He looked over at his friend and gave her a small hug before he sat back down on his bed. The girl smiled and sat next to him. She tried to explain what all she knew but it wasn't helping Iruka that much.  
  
"I found out you were put in the hospital two days ago. Me and Mizuki usually come together but Mizuki had to attend his cousins memorial today." The girl trailed off as another figure entered the room.  
  
"Good to see you're finally awake Iruka." An older man wearing the Hokage uniform smiled and asked the girl to leave so he could talk to Iruka alone. "Iruka I would like to take you to the memorial now."  
  
"I...my parents...they...the battle...what....why?" Iruka tired to say something to the Hokage. "You are now Hokage.... again."  
  
The Hokage smiled and nodded. He took Iruka to the memorial so Iruka could see his parent's names. Iruka tried not to cry but he couldn't help it. Iruka didn't remember everything about the battle nor did he know who got him out of there.  
  
Iruka got permission from the Hokage to keep his parent's house as long as he could maintain the rent. Several months passed before Konoha was able to return to it's normal schedule. Or at least as normal as it ever would be.  
  
A year and a few months passed since the incident as a certain ex- Anbu walked down the streets. Kakashi sighed as he walked down the busy streets. He heard laughter and people yelling, it seemed like not much changed around Konoha. His eye searched the street when he recognized the area he had made it to, and there in the middle of the street was his friend.  
  
"Mizuki, can you come over?" Iruka had a hopeful glint in his eye as his friend stared at the ground.  
  
"Sorry Iruka. My dad is taking me on a training mission with him since the Hokage said I could go." Mizuki apologized to his friend before his dad signaled to him it was time for them to go.  
  
Iruka looked disappointed as he watched his friend run off. He sighed and started to head down to his house a couple blocks away. He felt someone's chakra near him and turned around pulling a kunai from its holster glaring around to see who was trying to come up on him.  
  
Iruka quickly stiffened when he felt an object on his throat. He closed his eyes and grinned trying to think of a way out of the situation before the object left and he was pulled so he could face his attacker.  
  
"Well we need to work on your escape but at least you've gotten better on sensing people." Kakashi's eye curved.  
  
"Hey Kakashi." Iruka smirked before he continued to walk to his house with his friend walking beside him.  
  
"So what was that thing with Mizuki?" Kakashi noted that Iruka looked depressed before he had 'attacked' the genin.  
  
"He was going to come over this weekend to train with me but he has to go train with his dad." Iruka turned the corner to walk up the steps of his house.  
  
He opened the door and walked in opening his mouth as if he was fixing to say something but he looked around and realized no one was there. Kakashi watched this and had an urge to comfort the boy but he knew Iruka would just brush it off. Kakashi also took note in how could the house was as if the heater hadn't been turned on all winter.  
  
"Why is it so cold in here?" Kakashi gave Iruka a bored glare before he looked around the apartment to see the rest hadn't been touch. It looked exactly the way Iruka's parents had left it.  
  
"Oh yeah. I haven't been able to pay for heat but the fireplace works and I have water. I'm just trying to keep the house so I have to pay the mortgage before anything else." Iruka smiled as he went over to the fireplace and started a fire.  
  
"It must be hard since your still a genin." Kakashi sat on the ground in front of the fireplace.  
  
"Yeah but I'm going to be in the chunin exam next year so I will be able to get better paid missions or even a job." Iruka smiled as the fire slowly grew and he took a seat in front of his friend.  
  
They stared at each other for a while letting the warmth of the fire move around the room. The silence was peaceful as Iruka's face started to look around his house, his face slowly losing it's shine and his brown eyes growing clouded as he remembered his family in every inch of the room.  
  
"Iruka." Kakashi had a worried tone as he snapped his friend back to reality. Iruka jumped when he heard his name and his eyes returned to normal.  
  
/ Why did his eyes change like that all of the sudden? /  
  
"Sorry about that Kakashi. Were you saying something?" Iruka tried to smile but Kakashi knew it was fake.  
  
"I was just thinking that maybe you could rent out your spare room. That would probably help out with rent if you had two people paying for it."  
  
"Yeah that would help out. Do you know anyone who is looking for a place to stay?" Iruka seemed to lighten up at the chance he wouldn't be alone anymore.  
  
Kakashi thought about it for a little while and turned to look out the window realizing it had started to snow. He smiled under his mask and looked at Iruka.  
  
"I was thinking about moving over here. It would be easier to get to my post and I come over here so much it would just save me the time." Iruka seemed doubtful then thought about it.  
  
/ It would be nice to have a friend stay here with me. /  
  
Iruka gave Kakashi a quick glare before he nodded. Kakashi seemed happy with that and leaned back so that his feet would be by the fire and he would be nearly lying down. Iruka did the same and smiled as he closed his eyes so he could sleep.  
  
"I'll move in today." Kakashi laughed as he realized Iruka was out cold.  
  
He got up and found a blanket to put over Iruka. He quickly left so he could go tell people about his change of address after he told the Hokage his decision.  
  
"Are you sure Kakashi?" The old man smoked his pipe.  
  
"Yes Hokage-sama. I figured it would be best for both of us not to be living alone." Kakashi waited for the Hokage to say something.  
  
The Hokage stared at him for a second before he smiled. "Alright but I've been hearing complaints about you showing up late to all your meetings. I would suggest that you fix that problem before it becomes a habit."  
  
Kakashi smiled under his mask was he did a small bow and left the office heading to his apartment. It didn't take him long to pack because he really didn't have much more that the essentials. He paid his landlady all the rent he owed her and gave her his new address in case anyone came by looking for him.  
  
When Kakashi made it back to Iruka's house a few hours later, he found Iruka cleaning out the spare room. Kakashi peered in on the boy hiding his chakra so Iruka hopefully wouldn't able to sense him. Iruka had a huge sweater on and let his hair drop in his face. He looked small for a 12 year old but that was mainly because he hadn't hit his growth spur.  
  
Kakashi stood above his friend now that he was 15 and being both tall and lean. It didn't take Iruka that long before he noticed Kakashi staring at him. He glared over at the door that caused Kakashi to smile since the boy's self-training had obviously paid off.  
  
"Want any help?" Kakashi smiled under his mask as Iruka told him which box went where.  
  
It didn't take long to move things around so that Kakashi could move in. Kakashi felt better when he saw how open Iruka was to moving the furniture around for a new look. Maybe he only needed a small push before he would be able to move on from the fact that his parents wouldn't be returning home.  
  
Iruka stared at the ceiling and looked around the room that used to belong to his parents. It was his room now. A cold chill made Iruka curl up in the several heavy blankets he had over him. He sighed as he remembered when he slept in here as a kid, his eyes slowly shutting allowing the boy to slip into a dream.  
  
*dream*  
  
Iruka looked around the room he was in. Surrounded by darkness he couldn't see anything.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Void.  
  
Iruka walked around before he sensed something familiar.  
  
Chakra.  
  
Warmth.  
  
He turned around to see two figures walking to him. The figures were his parents who held their hands closely together.  
  
"Mom? Dad?" Iruka slowly walked over to them as they smiled at him.  
  
"No we are too young to be your parents, but we will be soon. My wife is pregnant!" Iruka's dad beamed with joy as he kissed his blushing wife.  
  
"Who are you? Maybe we can help you." Iruka's mom smiled gently at him.  
  
"I'm Iruka."  
  
Both parents smiled at his name.  
  
"If we have a son I want to name him Iruka." The father smiled.  
  
Iruka looked at them confused. He was their son. Had they forgotten?  
  
Iruka went to them trying to get closer when the disappeared and the dark void turned red. Iruka started to cry.  
  
So lonely.  
  
"I need someone."  
  
"Help."  
  
Iruka saw a figure running to him yelling at him. He stared at the figure and couldn't make out what it was until he saw the gray hair. The figure came closer and closer till it grabbed Iruka and embraced the boy.  
  
"Kakashi?"  
  
The figures mouth kept moving but Iruka couldn't hear anything he was saying. Iruka pushed Kakashi away from him and looked at his hands. He was covered in blood....Kakashi's blood.  
  
Iruka started to tremble as Kakashi slowly disappeared into the background, still yelling words Iruka couldn't hear. Iruka's eyes went wide as he saw a liquid start pouring into the room.  
  
Red.  
  
Blood.  
  
Iruka tried to back away but then felt something hold him still. He saw his parents again yelling at him. Their lips seemed to be telling him to get away and run.  
  
Iruka couldn't move. He looked around to see if he could find something to help pull him out when Kakashi appeared before him reaching out his hand. Iruka tried to grab Kakashi's hand as the jounin continued to yell words Iruka couldn't hear.  
  
The blood started to rise and Iruka started to panic reaching for Kakashi's hand. He couldn't reach. He felt the warm liquid clime up his body and make it to his neck. His vision began to fail as the liquid covered his eyes.  
  
He couldn't see Kakashi anymore and could fill himself drowning in the substance. He was cold again, and alone.  
  
*not dream*  
  
Kakashi sat down in the kitchen as he tried to memorize where everything went. He wasn't much of a sleeper but got what he needed. He walked into the living room throwing a few more logs on the fire so the house wouldn't get cold. After the fire had been rekindled he decided he should probably go to his room and finish rearranging all the stuff in there.  
  
He looked in the mirror and realized he still had his uniform on. He was probably still subconscious about taking his mask off with someone else so close but then again Iruka had already seen his face. Kakashi saw a sweater on the couch and replaced his shirt and facemask with the big turtleneck. He laughed when he saw it still covered his face but decided it would have to due and headed towards his room.  
  
While he passed Iruka's room he heard sobbing and stopped. Kakashi slowly opened the door to see the boy tossing in his sleep and crying. Kakashi ran up to him and started to shake the boy awake. Tears streaming down Iruka's face as he muttered stuff that sounded like names but Kakashi couldn't make it out.  
  
"Iruka wake up!"  
  
Iruka's eyes opened abruptly as the brown eyes stared at Kakashi full of confusion and still glazed from the tears. He saw Kakashi and wrapped his hands around the older boys chest praying this wasn't another dream.  
  
"Kakashi!" Iruka looked at his hands to see there was no blood and his body started shivering in relief.  
  
It was just a nightmare. Iruka started beating himself up for being such a little kid in front of Kakashi. He was going to be in the chunin exam next year and he was still having nightmares. Iruka glanced up at Kakashi who seemed relieved that nothing was really wrong. Iruka tried to talk but Kakashi placed a finger over his mouth.  
  
"Shhhhh. It's okay, I'm right here." Kakashi whispered as he pushed Iruka back down so the boy could sleep.  
  
Iruka laid down as he saw how late or early in the morning it was. Kakashi sighed as he stood up, he was happy Iruka just had a nightmare but the way the boy was crying made Kakashi worry. He was about to leave the bed when Iruka realized he would be alone again and sat up to look at Kakashi.  
  
"Do you need something Iruka-kun?" Kakashi smiled under the turtleneck trying to sound normal but it came out more worried than he had hoped.  
  
"I w.....was wondering if it would be okay.....if you stayed in here with me?" Iruka tried not to sound pathetic in his head but when it came out he wanted to take it back. He was 12! He doesn't need anyone to sleep with him cause he had a nightmare!  
  
"Only if you promise to go back to sleep." Iruka looked up at Kakashi trying to register that the jounin had just said yes.  
  
Iruka smiled with relief on his face. He would just have to grow up tomorrow; he thought to himself as he scooted over so Kakashi could get in. Kakashi had ran to his room first so he could put some other pants on besides his uniform pants and came back with lucky charms pajama pants.  
  
Kakashi climbed into the bed beside the boy and made himself comfortable as Iruka curled up into a ball and closed his eyes. Kakashi watched Iruka for a few minutes till Iruka's breath evened out revealing that the boy had finally fallen asleep.  
  
Kakashi stared at the walls for a moment before he realized that Iruka had started to shiver in his sleep. The house had gotten colder now that no one was moving about so Kakashi without thinking pulled Iruka over next to him and let the boy curl up against him.  
  
Iruka was amazingly a deep sleeper Kakashi laughed to himself. He closed his eyes as Iruka slept soundly but opened them when Iruka hugged him. Kakashi began to blush as he felt Iruka's warm breath against his skin and was glad that the turtleneck had come to use. He looked down to see Iruka had put his face in Kakashi's chest and Kakashi watched him sleeping.  
  
/ Iruka promise me you will never die. /  
  
Kakashi traced the scar on Iruka's face gently so he didn't wake the boy up and sighed. He kissed Iruka's forehead as if that had given him the answers to his questions and slowly shut his eyes as he fell into a deep sleep like the boy next to him.  
  
Phew! That was the hardest chapter to write so far and in fact I had written several different versions. I tried to make this one go slower but at the same time I wanted to keep the story going. Don't worry about the moving in together all those who can't see where this is going! I have a plan!!  
  
R&R! Please! 


	6. What is Love?

I do not own Naruto.  
  
Thank you for reviewing and I hope you all review this chapter too! It's been taking me longer and longer to write the chapters mainly cause school is fixing to be out on Christmas break so they decided to give us a crap load of work! But I'm sure you all understand lol *hopes you all understand* Sorry for not updating sooner. I hope you enjoy!  
  
Enjoy!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 6: What is Love?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi slowly opened his eyes as he felt something warm against his body. He looked down to see tangles of brown hair curled against his chest. He felt two arms around his waist and saw his arms were tightly holding the figure. He started to blush slightly as the head that had been buried in his chest started to move.  
  
Iruka opened his eyes and stared into cloth. He tried to push back so he could see what he was staring at but then felt someone's arms around him as his arms were wrapped the cloth's body. He moved his head up when he felt someone's breath on his hair. Iruka blushed as he stared at Kakashi who was staring back at him.  
  
Both boys stayed there staring at each other for a short while that felt like hours. Neither let go because they were enjoying the warmth and the company. Iruka finally decided to let go of Kakashi and tried to get up when he felt Kakashi's grip tighten.  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka stared into both of Kakashi's eyes.  
  
"Not yet, you're warm." Kakashi smirked as Iruka started to blush even more.  
  
Iruka stared at Kakashi before giving in and settling himself in his older friends arms once again. Iruka started to fall asleep again when he felt Kakashi start to move.  
  
"I got to get going....." Kakashi whispered as Iruka groaned at the coldness that replaced Kakashi's warmth.  
  
Iruka looked over to see Kakashi adjusting his turtleneck. Iruka had never really noticed but Kakashi would always keep his right eye closed when he didn't need it. Iruka got up and crawled off the bed to see Kakashi trying to find all his stuff. Iruka walked over to him and pulled the turtleneck down revealing Kakashi's face.  
  
"You don't have to cover your face when your home." Iruka started to blush immensely as he saw Kakashi laugh and smile at him.  
  
The first time Iruka saw Kakashi's face it wasn't well lit up in the room and Iruka had been so caught up in the fact that Kakashi's face wasn't mangled in some way he never realized how beautiful Kakashi was.  
  
Kakashi had one scar on his face and it went over his right eye. His pale skin and facial features gave him a handsome appearance. It was obvious why he would cover his face up, his face made him look weak and it would win the hearts of all the Konoha fan girls. Iruka admired their difference. While Kakashi was handsome, Iruka had a beauty about him. His facial features were light and being so young they looked more feminine. Iruka's train of thought was interrupted when Kakashi put his facemask on and headed out the door.  
  
"See you later Iruka-kun." And with that the jounin was gone.  
  
Iruka stared at the clock for a second before he realized how late it was and that if he didn't leave soon he would be late for his session. Iruka ran to his room cloths flying everywhere until he found his usual fish net undershirt and blue outfit. After grabbing his hitai-ate leaf headband and locking the door to his house he was finally on his way.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
It was a beautiful day in Konohagakure Village. All shinobi and citizens of the village continued their daily routine of events. The Hokage stood outside his balcony and watched his village. They were known for having the stealthiest ninjas in the land, and it was true. The great Hidden Leaf had many special shinobi, all very talented in their gifts that were given to them.  
  
He smoked his pipe as he watched various ranking shinobi train and saw the kids playing through the streets. He loved this village with all his heart. He turned to the Mountainside Images that had been neatly carved of all the Hokages before him and the one who was after in name but before in death.  
  
"Hey Hokage-sama! I've thought you would be in your office." Iruka jumped onto the balcony and ran over to the man smoking his pipe.  
  
"Iruka-kun. Your not normally late to our sessions, I hope this isn't because of your new roommate." The Hokage patted Iruka on the back, while the boy seemed confused.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"Why as Hokage of Konoha village I know everything about my citizens." Iruka gave the Hokage a doubtful glare. "And Kakashi had to tell me his change of address to get it approved. We like to know where all our Jounins are located in case of crisis."  
  
Iruka smiled at that and looked at the mountains that the Hokage had been staring at.  
  
"So how are you this week Iruka?" The man situated himself next to the young boy.  
  
"I'm doing............fine." Iruka grinned as he began to feel the warm breeze past him.  
  
The Hokage had a weekly session with Iruka and several other citizens that life had been cruel to. Iruka had gone to Sandaime when he was a kid for advice or just someone to talk to but after the fox, Sandaime became Hokage again, and his time became limited. Iruka was sad that he didn't get to talk to the Hokage whenever he pleased and often his sessions would be canceled due to engagements with other villages. This was the first session Iruka had finally been able to have in three months.  
  
"Hokage-sama?"  
  
"Yes Iruka, is there something you want to ask me?" The Hokage took notice at how the boy lowered his head to the ground with a slight blush on his cheeks.  
  
"H.......how or maybe..........what is love?" Iruka lifted his head slightly to give the grinning old man a glance before he stared at the ground again.  
  
"Why love is a feeling of strong affection towards a person or thing. Like how Yondaime gave his life to protect the village he loved, and like how your parents loved you, their child." He took another puff of his pipe before he smiled at his answer.  
  
"Well I know what that kind of love is but.........what I'm trying to get at is.......how do you know if you're in love." Iruka leaned on the railing of the balcony and stared at the sky.  
  
"Why is their someone you are interested in Iruka-kun?" The Hokage laughed as Iruka's face went a dark shade of red.  
  
"Well.......I don't know if I love this person as in 'in love with' but I do care for the person greatly. He has always been there for me you know but what if he doesn't feel the same way or am I too young to know what love is? I just.......I just."  
  
"Kakashi huh?"  
  
Iruka's hands went over his mouth as he stared at the Hokage. He didn't mean to give away any clues and especially the sex of the person he was talking about. Iruka didn't even know if liking Kakashi was right.  
  
"Is that okay?" Iruka seemed doubtful.  
  
"Iruka I cannot judge love. No one has that power, but love is a strong word that I don't take much root in hearing such young people say. If you have doubt than it isn't love but affection, only when you have no doubt in your mind about that certain relationship can you even consider it love."  
  
Iruka wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to hear but thought about it. The Hokage was always so good at giving advice whether you wanted it or not. He sighed before he got off the railing and bowed to the Hokage. Their session was over and he would have to meet with his team now for more training.  
  
"Before you go Iruka, I wanted to tell you that there is no harm in a crush despite whom the person is or whether or not it is one sided." Iruka smiled at this and bowed again before he took off towards the forest where their training ground was located.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi sighed as his name was registered under the mission he had just been assigned to. He would be gone on an assassination mission. He didn't mind the killing; he actually enjoyed the peace on his one-man missions. He would normally go to area he hadn't been before so he could learn the ninjitsus; planning came easily and in fact he could probably finish the job in half the time or even less.  
  
"So when do I leave?" Kakashi gave the shinobi behind the desk a cocky grin not realizing the chunnin wouldn't be able to see it because of his facemask.  
  
"Read the scroll kid." Kakashi glared at the chunnin who smirked at him.  
  
Kakashi was definitely not a kid, he was standing close to 6 foot and he would be turning 16 soon. He didn't look like a kid and already had many nicknames about his talents throughout the village. Kakashi just decided to brush it off after all he might be superior in rank but that guy was older than him. He grabbed the scroll and vanished after winking his one eye at a girl who had been waiting to file a report.  
  
"Kakashi-san! I'm glad we ran into each other." Kakashi felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to stare blankly at the older man.  
  
"Fancy meeting you at my new house." Kakashi's visible eye was obviously not amused.  
  
The Hokage laughed as he smoked his pipe for a few seconds. He turned around signally for his Anbu bodyguards to move far enough so that Kakashi and him could have a private chat. Kakashi saw this and decided that they could talk inside but was surprised to find that the door was locked and that he didn't have a key.  
  
"Something wrong Kakashi?"  
  
"Hehehehe............you see I haven't gotten a key form Iruka yet." The Hokage laughed and Kakashi sat down on the steps to his house deciding that spot would do too.  
  
"Kakashi I wanted to ask you a question." The Hokage moved his robes so that he could sit down next to the teen jounin.  
  
"What? Is there something Sandaime 'the professor' doesn't know and need me, the noble Kakashi, help with?" Kakashi smiled under his mask but it didn't last long.  
  
"Fat chance you cocky brat." The Hokage puffed his pipe a few times before he continued the conversation. "Some one asked me an interesting question today and I just wanted to hear what your answer would have been."  
  
"I will give you my opinion then." Kakashi smirked under his mask as he found the whole situation kind of interesting.  
  
"What is love? I mean as in how do you know you are in love." The Hokage watched Kakashi and was actually amused to see the boy think about it.  
  
"If your asking me out on a date, I'm sorry but I think you're too old for me." Kakashi dodged a smack from the Hokage who was annoyed with the answer he just received.  
  
"Kakashi! Please take this serious." The Hokage looked up the sky to see the clouds roam by.  
  
"Love........love is something unexpected. Its something that you would have never thought of happening happen right before your eyes and all you can do is hope that you make the right choice. Kind of like you finding a puzzle piece that shouldn't belong there but it does." Kakashi leaned back so the sun could hit his eye causing him to flinch before he turned to the Hokage.  
  
The Hokage sat there for a few seconds digesting the words that Kakashi had just spoken and smiled. What Kakashi had just said seemed to fit the explanation perfectly. The Hokage hit his knee before he stood up and gave Kakashi a content smile.  
  
"Thanks for giving me a genuine answer Kakashi, I think you have matured greatly." Kakashi smiled and waved as the Hokage puffed into smoke.  
  
Kakashi thought about it for a second. What is love? Kakashi smiled as he thought of his answer that had just popped into his head. He turned to enter the house but remembered the door was locked so he decided to go find Iruka for a key.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Hey Mizuki!" Iruka caught up to his friend. "What are you doing for lunch today?"  
  
Mizuki smiled at Iruka. They hadn't gotten to hang out with each other that often since they both trained for the chunin exam. In fact they hadn't seen each other for two months.  
  
"I heard that there was some ramen shop opening near our houses, so I was going to go check it out. Do you want to come?" Mizuki smirked as Iruka's stomach growled.  
  
"I guess I'm a little hungry." Iruka smiled then something hit him. "Hey Mizuki?"  
  
"What's up Iruka?"  
  
Iruka thought about it for a while staring at his friend as if he was trying to decided if it was okay to as him the question. He looked around and saw the streets were seemingly empty and decided if he was going to ask it might as well be now.  
  
"What do you think love is?" Mizuki seemed surprised by the question.  
  
"I wasn't expecting that.......let me think about it for a second."  
  
Both boys continued walking as the cool air settled around them. It was cold and snow was still on the ground. The sky was sunny and there weren't many clouds, Iruka thought that if he stared high enough he would be able to see space.  
  
"Love is something obtained. You can't just hope that it will happen you have to make it happen, like training to become stronger. Strength isn't something your born with it is something you deserve after hard work." Mizuki put his hand on his chin as if he was still trying to find a better way to word it.  
  
Iruka thought about it for a second and sighed. Love was a matter of opinion more than it was a reality to the boy at this time. He just didn't know what to think, then he decided since he already asked that question he might as well go to the next level.  
  
"How do you know you are in love?" Iruka didn't notice he had surprised Mizuki out of his daydream by another sudden question.  
  
"To tell you the truth Iruka, I don't know. I have never really thought about it now you know its just one of those things I plan on waiting for. Right now I am going to be strong and when I become strong enough then I will worry about love but why are you so interested lately?"  
  
Iruka blushed as they stopped at a small ramen stand. Ichiraku. The place was new and had a homely air about it that made Iruka feel comfortable as him and Mizuki sat down on two stools and ordered. Iruka continued to study his surroundings before his trains of thoughts were interrupted.  
  
"You didn't answer me Iruka." Iruka looked over at Mizuki surprised then at the counter as if he was trying to find the right way of answering it.  
  
"I am just wondering, to tell you the truth I don't really know it just seems to be something I don't know much about. It has to be important right? I mean people are constantly talking about it and we even have a holiday to celebrate it." Iruka turned around when he saw the ramen he just ordered getting put in front of him.  
  
"Celebrate what?"  
  
Iruka jumped up because he hadn't been paying attention to find Kurenai and Asuma standing right behind him. He felt really embarrassed because he should have sensed them since he was going to try out to be a chunin next year. Kurenai smiled at him as Iruka noticed she was holding Asuma's hand. Then it hit Iruka, why not ask someone who would most likely know, such as a couple.  
  
"Hey Kurenai and Asuma?" Iruka moved over to a booth so all four of them could sit together.  
  
"Yes Iruka-kun?" Kurenai smiled brightly at him before she ordered from the woman behind the counter pointing to where she would be sitting.  
  
"Iruka wants to know what you guys think love is." Mizuki said as Iruka blushed from the slight embarrassed feeling he felt.  
  
"Love?" Asuma gave Iruka a weird glare before he leaned back in his seat.  
  
Kurenai got a glint in her eye as she began to talk, "Why love is the most beautiful thing in the world Iruka-kun. Love is something that is cherished. It's when you can't stop thinking about the person. It's when you get that funny feeling just by hearing the person's name and whenever you are near each other you can't seem to be able to tell if your in reality or not. Love is something that is powerful and yet delicate."  
  
Everyone stared at Kurenai as she continued her little speech before Iruka looked at Asuma who surprisingly actually seemed interested in the subject.  
  
"Love is survival training. It's when you're able to put up with anything and go through everything but in the end you're twice as strong as you were before you started." Kurenai seemed to be a little disappointed with Asuma's answer, "but like training it is something people take advantage of."  
  
Kurenai and Iruka thought over what Asuma just said and sighed contently. Iruka was baffled now. He thought about it, maybe love is whatever we make it. He quickly turned around when he felt a familiar chakra enter the ramen stand. He blushed slightly but not noticeably as Kakashi walked over to him.  
  
"Hey Iruka I need a key to the house." Kakashi said hey to all of the friends that were gathered.  
  
"Why would you need a key to Iruka's house?" Kurenai looked over at Kakashi curiously before she glanced at Iruka.  
  
"Oh yeah! He moved in with me." Iruka didn't really notice the shocked expressions that his friends were giving as he dug into his pocket for his house key.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us you were going to move in with Iruka?" Kurenai yelled at Kakashi who grabbed the key from Iruka.  
  
"I wasn't really planning on moving in with him, I was planning on moving though and he just happened to be looking for a roommate." Kakashi smiled under his mask and curved his eye so people could tell he was in a good mood.  
  
The group started to talk about Kakashi moving in with Iruka, about how Kurenai didn't think Iruka would be safe with the pervert or how Mizuki thought it could be beneficial if Iruka trained with Kakashi. Iruka told them that it would help him pay rent on his home so he could keep it and Kakashi told them it would just save him time. All were valid excuses but the conversation came up to an immediate halt when a teen in green ran passed the ramen stand.  
  
"Gai?" Iruka turned his head to see the green blur stop and turn around to reveal it was Gai. Gai walked over to the group.  
  
"Hey guys! And hello Kakashi." The last sentence had a tone of disappointment.  
  
"Hey I have an idea! Gai what id your opinion about what love is?" Mizuki startled Gai.  
  
Gai jumped back so that Iruka wouldn't get him wet from the ramen he spit out when Mizuki asked him. Iruka had a slight blush on his cheeks as everyone stared at Gai.  
  
"What? Why are you asking me?" Gai's face started to blush.  
  
"That is what we were talking about earlier. I just thought it would be interesting to hear your opinion, I mean we heard Kurenai and Asuma's." Mizuki looked over at Iruka hoping that his friend would encourage guy but was surprised to find him staring at the table.  
  
"Hey that's funny! The Hokage asked me the same question not too long ago....." Kakashi was interrupted when Iruka let out a squeak. "Are you okay Iruka?"  
  
"Y....e....a.....h." Iruka started doing his breathing exercises hoping that it would calm him down. After all the Hokage wouldn't tell Kakashi anything right?  
  
"Well I guess my opinion of love is that it's a spontaneous thing. I believe when I find the person I am going to be with I will fall in love right then and there. I wouldn't really know I guess but I like to believe love is something that makes you a better person. It makes you want to be perfect for the person and makes you want to protect that person and your love. Love is the most powerful force in the world or so I've heard, so sometimes I think that love for a special someone can also make you stronger."  
  
The way Gai presented his short speech with his heart made everyone standing around him blush except Kakashi whose facemask covered any of his emotions. Gai smiled and put his hand behind his head.  
  
"Sorry I hope I didn't get carried away or anything." He laughed as Kurenai softly laughed before she looked over at Iruka.  
  
"Who started all this talk about love?" Kakashi looked around at everyone. "The Hokage asked me."  
  
"Mizuki asked us." Asuma sighed as he pointed over to Mizuki.  
  
"Iruka was the one who asked me." Mizuki pointed over to Iruka.  
  
Iruka just sat there staring at everyone as they stared back. His face slowly began to blush before he noticed Asuma smiling. Asuma didn't know right? Iruka tried to think of a way out of this scenario.  
  
"Why so interested Iruka-kun?" Asuma smirked and added an emphasis on the kun part.  
  
"I.....I......" Iruka looked at the sky before he glanced at Kakashi then at his friends. He looked similar to a deer caught in the headlights of a car and Iruka prayed the car would go ahead and hit him.  
  
"I.....I think I got to go! Lets go Kakashi, we can make a copy of the key on the way home!" Iruka jumped over Mizuki and ran out of the shack.  
  
Everyone looked at each other before they started laughing. Kakashi waved bye and quickly ran so he could catch up to Iruka.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi turned the corner to find Iruka had made it to the park and was hitting his head against a tree. Kakashi laughed to himself before he made his way over to Iruka.  
  
"You don't want to ruin your cute face on that tree. After all apparently you have a crush so you should want to look your best for them." Kakashi had a sarcastic tone in his voice.  
  
Iruka gave Kakashi a death glare before he started walking to his house. It didn't take long since Iruka had run at least halfway form the ramen stand. Kakashi looked over at Iruka who seemed to have his eyes stuck to staring at the ground. Kakashi hadn't really realized it but a wave of jealousy surged through him. He liked Iruka, but Iruka had a crush on someone else. Kakashi suddenly had an urge to kidnap Iruka and take him away so that Iruka could only be his. Kakashi sighed to himself for being so possessive of the boy. He had no right to be after all he hadn't told Iruka how he felt so what gave him the right.  
  
"When do you leave on your mission?" Iruka snapped Kakashi out of his train of thought.  
  
"I need to leave tomorrow morning." He gave Iruka a blank stare before he stopped at a store a few blocks form Iruka's house.  
  
"Why are we stopping here?" Iruka looked at the store confused then he remembered they were going to make a copy of the house key so Kakashi could have one.  
  
It didn't take long to make a duplicate and Iruka ran up the steps of the house to open the door while Kakashi took his time. The house was warmer than when Kakashi had left it and remembered he had paid the heat bill that morning. He loved how quick people worked in Konoha.  
  
Kakashi looked over at Iruka and studied his outfit. It was cold from the snow so Iruka was a dark blue jacket and he was wearing full pants instead of his usual long shorts. Iruka had a scarf that his mother had made him wrapped around his neck hiding his chin and he had earmuffs on even though Kakashi told him that if he let his hair down he wouldn't need to wear earmuffs. Iruka took off his gloves and smiled at Kakashi with his cheeks slightly tinted from the cold. Kakashi admired how Iruka looked so innocent in wintertime. He appeared at some points to be as pure as the snow.  
  
"Kakashi?" Kakashi jumped up and looked over at Iruka who laughed slightly at surprising the jounin.  
  
"Sorry about that Iruka. What do you need?" Kakashi blushed under his mask was grateful that he had kept it on.  
  
Iruka walked over to Kakashi, which startled the jounin for a second before he backed away. Kakashi didn't know why Iruka was going over to him and wasn't going to be caught until he knew that it was safe. Iruka smiled and jumped for Kakashi but he got away. Kakashi decided this could be a game.  
  
"Catch me if you can Iruka-kun!" Kakashi did a few seals and disappeared while Iruka frowned but decided he could catch Kakashi.  
  
Iruka went into the living room and tried to focus for chakra. Knowing Kakashi he would have probably hidden it but Iruka could hope that the jounin had messed up this once but for Iruka's luck he didn't. Iruka decided that Kakashi would most likely hide in a place that didn't have good lighting and made his way down the hallway.  
  
Iruka opened the door to Kakashi's room to reveal that it hadn't been disturbed and decided that Kakashi wouldn't be in there. He then made his way down to his room and opened the door to find all the lights turned off. Well the room with poor lighting at this time of day would be Iruka's since he only saw the rising sun. Iruka search every nook and cranny of his room but didn't find anything. No Kakashi.  
  
Iruka sighed and made his way back to Kakashi's room. He went in and looked around. Kakashi hadn't been Iruka's roommate for more than a day and his room already seemed like he had lived there for months. Iruka smiled as he searched Kakashi's room only to come up disappointed. Iruka grabbed one of Kakashi's scrolls and plopped on his friend's bed. He stared at the ceiling before he gave up.  
  
"Kakashi! This isn't fair!" Iruka threw the scroll at Kakashi's ceiling to hear a noise.  
  
"Umph." Iruka looked up staring in disbelief as a piece of camouflage paper fell to the ground revealing Kakashi holding on to the ceiling.  
  
Kakashi grabbed his stomach from the impact that came form the scroll. He forgot that he was holding on so he wouldn't fall and started to make his way down to the ground. Iruka's eyes got big as he tried to escape the impact. With a loud crashing noise Kakashi opened his eyes to see that he was on top of Iruka.  
  
Iruka was being pressed into the bed and had his arms over his head. His eyes were closed tightly shut as he let out a gasp of pain. Kakashi saw that his hips were in between Iruka's legs and he had his hands beside the genin. Iruka opened his eyes slowly before he looked up at Kakashi.  
  
"I guess I caught you." Kakashi whispered as Iruka gave him a glare.  
  
"I just wanted to do this." Iruka pulled down Kakashi's mask as Kakashi gasped at the cool air touching his skin, "I told you that you don't have to wear it when you are home."  
  
Kakashi blushed slightly as he looked at the position him and Iruka were in again. Kakashi pushed leaned forward to brush his lips against Iruka's causing the boy to blush. He picked up his hand so he could trace the features of Iruka's face before he smiled and leaned in for another kiss.  
  
Iruka didn't know how to respond, he felt strange all of the sudden. He tried to tell his body to move so he could think about it but his body pushed forward to return the kiss instead. Iruka felt one of Kakashi's hands slide under his shirt. Iruka gasped as the cold hand touched his warm skin.  
  
Kakashi took advantage of this and slid his tongue in Iruka's mouth and let it explore. Iruka didn't really fight for dominance most likely cause he had never done this before or so Kakashi thought. Iruka pulled away staring at Kakashi as he started to move so he could leave the room.  
  
Iruka was pulled down as Kakashi grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head on the bed. Kakashi started kissing Iruka again enjoying how the boy's body responded to each sign of affection. Iruka stopped fighting to get away so Kakashi let go of the wrists and helped maintained his balance so he would be too heavy for the body underneath him.  
  
Iruka moved his hands and grabbed Kakashi's vest. His stomach felt funny, he was sweating, and his head hurt because he was so confused. Kakashi started to move slowly to Iruka's neck before Iruka suddenly pushed the jounin off him and fell off the bed.  
  
Kakashi was surprised and looked down at the ground to see Iruka's eyes staring at him. They seemed to be confused and surprised. There were so many emotions flowing through Iruka's gaze Kakashi almost got lost staring into them.  
  
Iruka got off the ground his body trembling as it was trying to decide what to do next. He looked at Kakashi and then slowly backed away to the door. Kakashi grabbed his wrist and Iruka looked down at the ground as he felt his face flush up.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka. I shouldn't have done that." Iruka looked up at Kakashi for a second before he nodded and whispered something inaudible to the jounin.  
  
Kakashi watched Iruka walk away and go into his room. He turned around and grabbed a towel as he went into the restroom and started a cold shower. Kakashi didn't even bother to take his cloths off though he managed to take the vest off after he was in the shower.  
  
/ Crap. /  
  
Kakashi banged his head against the wall a few times as he sat down on the floor. He replayed everything that had just happened in his mind over and over again before he stood up and took the rest of his uniform off and turned the water faucet up so that the water would warm up.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka stared out the window. He tried to gather his thoughts.  
  
/ What was that? Does that mean .........? But I don't know what to do! I like Kakashi but I don't know if it is in that way. I have too many things to think about, the chunin exam is coming soon, and I need to train. /  
  
Iruka heard the shower go off and continued to stare out his window. He could see the ice cycles at his window slowly start to melt. Winter would be over soon and spring was coming.  
  
Iruka moved from the window a jumped face down on his bed. He didn't want to ask Kakashi why that just happened because he was afraid the jounin would blame it on hormones.  
  
Iruka was too busy in his thoughts he didn't see his door open and Kakashi slowly walking in. Kakashi approached slowly to make sure Iruka didn't have any life threatening weapons in his hands as he saw the boy stand up and start beating his pillow to death.  
  
Iruka heard someone jump back and turned around to see Kakashi smiling uneasy at him. He looked in his hands and saw that he had nearly mutilated his pillow; feathers were everywhere. He smiled and threw the pillow behind him.  
  
"Hehehe. Ummm.......I was just." Iruka was interrupted as Kakashi sat down on his bed looking down at the ground.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka. Let's just pretend that never happened, okay." Kakashi looked up and was surprised to see Iruka had a hurt expression on his face.  
  
"Yeah. It never happened." Iruka mumbled as Kakashi looked at him a little worried before he smile at him and left the room shutting the door.  
  
As soon as the door shut Iruka grabbed his shirt. Why did that hurt so much? Love wasn't supposed to hurt so maybe this wasn't love. But then what was it?  
  
Iruka felt a chill go down his spine and decided it was too late to be thinking. He turned over and closed his eyes praying for a good night of sleep.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi woke up to a weird noise coming from the kitchen. He looked at his alarm clock and saw that he wouldn't have to wake up for another hour. He closed his eyes only to wake up again after a five-minute nap to another disturbing noise this time from the living room.  
  
Kakashi jumped out of bed and walked down the hallway to reveal Iruka staring at the stars through the living room window. Kakashi looked around and saw that the noise from the kitchen was from the large amount of food Iruka had gotten from the kitchen and the noise after that was from the living room was Iruka moving the sofa over so that it faced the window instead of the fireplace.  
  
Iruka seemed to be dazed as he was staring at the sky. Kakashi wondered if he normally woke up at this time to watch the stars because amazingly enough Iruka was always awake before him. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch next to Iruka who was eating some weird concoction of foods in a bowl. Kakashi felt sick as he could swear he saw marshmallows and some ramen.  
  
"Hey Kakashi." Iruka didn't bother to look at his friend he just continued to stare out of the window.  
  
Kakashi smiled to show he heard him the watched Iruka for a second. His eyes seemed darker than normal and his skin was paler by the moonlight's effect. Kakashi smiled as Iruka looked over at him.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Oh sorry. I was just admiring the beautiful moonlight." Iruka gave Kakashi a weird glance before he yawned.  
  
"Iruka I..........I was wondering what your opinion on love was." Iruka seemed to smirk at that before he moved his body so that they would be facing each other.  
  
"Love........is confusing." Kakashi laughed as Iruka smiled.  
  
"I also wanted to apologize again for earlier and I wanted to tell you the reason I did that was....." Kakashi saw Iruka yawn and his eyes slowly started to close.  
  
Iruka was asleep. Kakashi laughed as he moved Iruka around so that he could be more comfortable when he woke up. Kakashi pushed Iruka's hair to the side and stared at the peaceful boy in front of him.  
  
" I did that because I think I have fallen for you." Kakashi whispered and stood up to get ready for his mission.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Love: 1. Affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest. 2. Unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the good of another.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I was going through the other chapters and decided to take a quick break from all the sad stuff even though it will happen again eventually. *tear* Well this is chapter 6 so 7 should be next.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Replies'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Morien Alexander: They are only as gorgeous as they should be if not they should be even better looking lol.  
  
Iceheart19: I hope that this chapter helped lighten it up more. If not.........then don't worry cause next chapter will definitely be lighter or so I plan thus far.  
  
dalpin crage: well every relationship has there rough moments it just happens that they have some before they are even a couple. *does a dance* but everything works out in the end....right?  
  
Silent Bob 546: Thank you! They are cute aren't they!  
  
Firedragon97: That was a difficult demand wasn't it..........but doesn't it go good with the plot!! (j/k)  
  
Sawdust monster: That paragraph was probably the only thing that didn't change throughout my five versions!!! *flames at being so indecisive* but I'm glad that I didn't change it.  
  
JadeDragoness: I didn't want Iruka to grow up all by himself and that's the main reason I made Kakashi move in with him. Hehehehe. Besides the fact that you could have more fun with the couple and their situations if they lived together helped out making that decision too,  
  
Muchacha: I was wearing lucky charms pajama pants when I wrote it so I thought Kakashi might enjoy wearing a pair too! YAY lol.  
  
Jada Flame: Don't worry about not reviewing before hand! I'm glad that you reviewed now so YAY! Thank you.  
  
TheTrueSilver: Thanks! I try to put my creative writing skills to work when I do the descriptions lol.  
  
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	7. Confession

I do not own Naruto *tears* and I am going through a depression because of it. Oh yeah! I am rewriting the ending to 'Tis The Season', which was my first fanfic! It should come out before Christmas or that's what I am planning. (But probably isn't going to happen since I'm going to Texas for two weeks!! GO TEXAS!)  
  
Oh and I'm sure some might have noticed that I have made small references to my twin's story 'Forbidden Jutsus' by Rukaiay Lompergay or at least that is how I think you spell it lol. Whenever she finishes that story, me and her will be putting a story out that we are both writing, just in different point of views...........just keep an eye open for that.  
  
If you are looking for other fanfics to read I strongly suggest these few:  
  
"Birthday Present" by Jade Dragoness  
"Shinnen" by Delas  
"Violate my Jenkentsu, Why don't you" by Jin1  
  
"Sometimes" by Morien Alexander  
  
Now for the next chapter!! YAY! AND.........TO the YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE......hehehehe I'm glad you caught up but here's my warning read at your own risk cause lets just say things get a little kinky as the story goes. I just thought I would warn you before you tackle me at church or anything lol  
  
Another news update is I have unofficially decided not to put any lemon scenes in here. I thought of a cute poem I could put in the story where a scene would be located but then decided against it. I might change my mind but I am upping the rating to PG-13.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 7: Confession  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka sat up in his bed. It was raining outside his window and the sounds made it feel so peaceful in his room. Iruka got up and looked over at the clock. He wouldn't have to be awake for another two hours but Iruka knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, after all the chunin exam was starting today.  
  
Iruka sighed as he looked over his dark room that had a blue glow from the rain in the windows. He scratched his head for a second before he decided he should go ahead and take a shower. Maybe he could get some studying in before the big event.  
  
Iruka opened the door and looked around his house. It was dark and peaceful; he noticed that Kakashi's stuff was laid out over the floor.  
  
/ He probably didn't get home till really late. / Iruka thought to himself before he grabbed a towel from the hall closet and walked into the restroom.  
  
The restroom was big for a normal household. It had a changing room that was more of the normal bathroom since it contained the toilet and sink. There was a huge wall that turned into a sliding door that would allow you to enter the bath and shower part. Iruka loved the bathtub that his dad had put into the house because it was huge, and the shower hung over it.  
  
Iruka took off his cloths and opened the door to be overcome by hot mist. That was strange since Iruka couldn't hear the shower or the bathtub yet it felt like someone had just drawn a super hot bath.  
  
Iruka walked slowly as he entered the room looked around to see if he could distinguish anything beneath the mist, when he slipped and fell into the bathtub. The water was above hot and the fact that when Iruka stood up the water reached his lower chest didn't help. Iruka tried to regain his senses, as his body seemed to be melting at the heat. He tried to get up but felt something push him back in the scorching water causing him to wince.  
  
Iruka glared at the figure in front of him trying to make out who the intruder was.  
  
Kakashi!  
  
Iruka widened his eyes as he felt the water move telling him Kakashi had just entered the tub too. Iruka backed up till he could feel the wall of the tub against his back. What was he doing here and what was going on? Iruka waited as his body started to adapt to the hot water that surrounded him. It wasn't until he spotted Kakashi coming over to him did he decide something weird was going on.  
  
"Hey Kakashi. Are you feeling okay?" Iruka had an uneasy tone in his voice and tried to make hands signals telling Kakashi to stop coming towards him.  
  
Kakashi grabbed Iruka's hands and pulled the genin over to him. Iruka gasped as he felt Kakashi's lips against his. Iruka tried to get away but Kakashi grabbed both his wrist with one hand and wrapped the other arm around Iruka's waist.  
  
Iruka couldn't help but let out a small moan as the felt there bodies being pressed together. What was this? Iruka felt Kakashi twist at his wrist causing the boy to gasp at the jolt of pain, Kakashi just smiled as he let his tongue into Iruka's mouth. Iruka's eyes widened at the intrusion but he slowly returned the kiss.  
  
At this Kakashi let go of his wrist and pushed Iruka against the wall. Iruka grabbed both of Kakashi's shoulders as the jounin kissed him again. Iruka started to.............  
  
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.  
  
Iruka jumped out of his bed as if he had been attacked and glared at his alarm clock. This was the third week Iruka had been having 'those' kind of dreams. He hated to admit it but he had also grown a hate for his alarm clock that would wake his up right when the dream got good.  
  
"Nest time I'll just force myself to make the first move in the dream and then maybe I can see where they all lead to." Iruka thought aloud even though he could probably give a really good guess to where the next scene in his dreams would lead.  
  
And all of them had him as uke.  
  
Iruka got up and turned his alarm clock. He hadn't noticed at first but he was sweating really badly and his heart rate seemed to be going faster than normal. Was it because of the dream? Iruka cursed himself underneath his breath as he took his shirt off that was soaking in his sweat.  
  
Iruka looked over at the window as he heard something that seemed familiar, and sure enough it was raining. At least he knew why it was raining in his dream. Iruka walked out of his room not messing with his wet hair that stuck to the back of his neck. He felt like he had been sprayed with a hose.  
  
Iruka looked over and saw a figure moving on the couch. Iruka approached it slowly as he saw the gray hair shimmer in the light that the rain had lit up the room with. Iruka watched for a while as Kakashi turned over in the couch. Why wasn't he in his bed?  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka whispered as the jounin slowly opened his eyes.  
  
"Hn. Iruka?" Kakashi slowly sat up and got off the couch. "Do you need something?"  
  
At this Iruka frowned. Kakashi always acted like he was Iruka's guardian and that annoyed the boy especially since he was developing a crush on the jounin.  
  
"No. I was just wondering why you weren't in your bed. I bet it would be better on your neck." Iruka said this as Kakashi popped his neck then smiled.  
  
"Well since I got home late I tried to sleep but my bed wasn't working for me so then I watched you sleep for a litt..........then I tried the couch and now you woke me up."  
  
Iruka stared at Kakashi. Did he just say that he watched Iruka sleep? Iruka smiled at Kakashi before the jounin ducked as Iruka tried to hit him.  
  
"Why were you watching me sleep?" Iruka continued to smile as his voice showed that he was angry and annoyed.  
  
"You were just......so......peaceful.......I thought...... it........would" Kakashi stopped dodging Iruka's punches and pinned the genin to the couch with him leaning over him, "help."  
  
Iruka shivered as he pictured Kakashi watching him sleep, it was creepy. Then Iruka's face flushed up, what if Kakashi was in there, and Iruka talked in his sleep? Iruka had a tendency to say things he dreamed about and with the dreams he had bee having lately! Iruka's thoughts were interrupted as he felt Kakashi get off him.  
  
Kakashi yawned then he headed for his room while Iruka just started to pray that he had grown out of talking in his sleep. He put his hand through his hair and felt how wet it was from the sweat so he went to go take a shower.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka felt his arm being tugged by Suzume. He knew that she had a fighting spirit but he would had never guessed she would have been so mad at him when he showed up two minutes late. He looked at the building they were entering; his team would be taking the chunin exam today.  
  
Iruka was amazed at all the different shinobi in the room and was glad that he recognized each of the villages since forgetting everything you learned now would have been a bad sign. Iruka sighed as he and his team took a seat while everyone waited for the exam to begin.  
  
It started off with a written test, which Iruka breezed through since he would read all kinds of ninja books for his free time. He looked over at his two teammates and gave them a smug smile to show that he had completed the test and the boy did a few hands seals before his body went to sleep and Iruka jolted in his chair.  
  
Iruka's other teammate was the cousin to Yamanaka Inoshi who was known for his mind body switch technique. It wasn't long before Iruka regained his senses and saw that the other teammates had gotten the answers. Iruka enjoyed that fact that he was considered the brain of the team; from forbidden jutsus to how a Sharingan eye works; Iruka was a genius.  
  
The other tests; though extremely hard; seemed to go by fast. It wasn't long before the last test came up and everyone would be going against each other. Iruka stared at the match up bored with a huge grin on his face. If he and Mizuki won their first matches they would get to go against each other.  
  
They had a month to train and heal from the other tests. Sadly the boy in Iruka's team had broken his arm and decided he would just take the exam later. Iruka was sad because he wanted everyone to graduate with him. He sighed as he plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"Good job Iruka." Iruka turned his aching body so he could see Kakashi smiling at him. "I got to watch you guys in the forest on screen. Suzume has a killer instinct when she is mad, doesn't she?"  
  
Iruka tried to laugh but all the endorphins that had been holding off the pain his body was going through left so it sound more like a moan. Kakashi jumped on the bed causing Iruka's body to bounce, which made Iruka wince in pain ad he heard his bones crack. Kakashi just smiled and made his way over to his friend.  
  
"Hey you need to get up and train. Your first opponent is from the village hidden in the stones. You should know that they are known for their specialties in....." Kakashi stopped and looked down as Iruka curled into a ball and slept silently.  
  
Kakashi sighed as he stood up and hit Iruka on the head. Iruka screamed and glared up at Kakashi who was smiling under his mask. Iruka rubbed his head and mumbled some things that Kakashi really didn't take notice of as he waited for the boy to stand up. Iruka slowly picked himself up and glared out of spite. He hated that Kakashi was right and that he needed to train but since Kakashi wasn't going to let him sleep he might as well give up.  
  
"Take a shower first so you can refresh yourself." Kakashi waved as he left Iruka alone mumbling threats under his breath.  
  
Iruka winced as the water hit his wounds. They hadn't completely healed yet so the water made it sting. Iruka turned off the water and put his pants on realizing he left his shirt and bandages in the living room. He walked into the living room sighing as he saw Kakashi sitting on the couch.  
  
"What took you so lon........?" Kakashi walked over to Iruka and lead the boy over to a stool.  
  
Iruka stared at Kakashi trying to see what he was up to when he felt Kakashi's cold fingers trace some of his scars and new wounds that were made during the exam.  
  
"Hey! Hey! If you're going to gawk at me then at least you could do some of the bandaging." Iruka yelled trying not to show a blush from the contact of the jounin.  
  
Kakashi laughed as he got the bandages and started working on the fresh cuts while Iruka put some healing lotion on the ones that wouldn't scar. They spent a few minutes in silence doing their jobs till Iruka looked over at Kakashi who still had his mask one. Iruka lifted his arms as Kakashi circled his body wrapping the bandage around so it wouldn't fall off. Kakashi stopped when he was directly in front of Iruka and wrapped his arms around the genin so he could tie the end of it in the back.  
  
Iruka couldn't hold the blush in as Kakashi's head rested on his shoulder and his two arms were fiddling with the knot he was trying to tie. Kakashi smiled as he told himself he should've just gone around and avoided the unnecessary body contact but then the other side of him applauded the effort to touch Iruka.  
  
Iruka tensed as Kakashi accidentally tied the knot too hard causing the wound to hurt. His legs grabbed Kakashi's waist as if they were trying to give Kakashi the pain Iruka had just felt. Kakashi blushed and was glad he left his mask on as he leaned back but didn't go that far as Iruka still had his legs pressing hard on Kakashi's thighs. Kakashi gave Iruka a confused look with his only visible eye as Iruka tried to yell at his body for not letting the jounin go.  
  
"Iruka?"  
  
"I umm........I ........Thank.......Thank you." Iruka blushed but he looked up at Kakashi. Iruka was finally able to let go of Kakashi and made his way over to his room to find a shirt.  
  
Kakashi watched the boy and sighed. He knew his feelings for Iruka. Kakashi hated how everything about Iruka would get under his skin, how he cared so much for someone so young. Kakashi thought he was starting to hate everything about Iruka before he realized that he actually had fallen in love with the young teen. The best part of it all was Kakashi 'the genius' had no idea how to tell Iruka how he felt.  
  
"Kakashi!" Iruka yelled from his room before he stuck his head out to peer at the jounin.  
  
"Yes?" Kakashi asked Iruka in a plain emotionless voice, he tried to block all the images of Iruka yelling his name out in other situations in his head. He really was a pervert and he knew it, he would wish though that his mind would give it a rest before he got a nosebleed.  
  
"What training are we going to do today? I was hoping to go over nin jutsus with you since you are considered the master." Iruka walked out of his room with a small smirk on his face as he put his sandals on.  
  
"I see....." Kakashi glared at Iruka with a bored look before he smiled under his mask. "I guess I am the master and you do need a lot of help."  
  
They both laughed quietly before they headed out to go train. Iruka grabbed a few of his weapons but left the ones he would normally bring because he really wanted to focus on learning nin jutsus and not on weapon combat. Kakashi smiled as they both walked talking like friends and laughing like friends.  
  
That's when it hit him. Friends. Is that all they were? Kakashi grew quiet as he started thinking about it. He loved his friendship with Iruka but he wouldn't be able to keep fooling himself in thinking that his feelings weren't more. Kakashi looked over at the teen that smiled at him and grinned at the setting sun.  
  
Some of Iruka's hair fell out of its holder as a breeze came by. Kakashi just stared as Iruka smirked pulling the hair behind his ear. Kakashi had to tell Iruka how he felt, if he didn't then he was afraid that maybe he would miss out on something but he didn't know what.  
  
"Kakashi....are you okay?" Kakashi looked over at Iruka from the branch he had made his way on. "Did you want something? You kept staring at me funny."  
  
"......." Kakashi blushed underneath his facemask. This was his chance. "Iruka I........"  
  
"Hey Iruka-san!" A tall teen ran up to Iruka and did a small bow.  
  
"Oh hey there Seiko-san." Iruka did a small bow back and started a small conversation with the teen forgetting all about the fact that Kakashi was about to tell him something.  
  
Kakashi hit the back of his head against the tree and sighed. He looked over at the teenager talking to Iruka.  
  
Seiko stood a head over Iruka and had short dark blue hair. He wore a Hidden Mist headband on his forehead and had his left ear pierced. He wore some baggy pants and had a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist but his top body was uncovered and showed off his tan skin. Seiko had a tattoo on his right arm that showed he belonged to one of the prestigious clans in the Hidden Mist.  
  
Kakashi growled when he noticed how close Seiko had gotten to Iruka when it hit him. Seiko blushed slightly when Iruka laughed which caused Kakashi to jump off his branch and walk over to the two boys. He wouldn't let someone make a move on Iruka without him finally telling the teen how he felt.  
  
"Iruka we need to finish training." Iruka looked over at Kakashi from the story he was telling Seiko and looked at the sky.  
  
"It's getting kind of late Kakashi, lets just take a break." Kakashi sighed as Iruka smiled at him. If only the genin knew how he felt.  
  
"So this is Kakashi-san! I am glad to finally meet the man who Iruka-san is always talking about." Seiko put his hand out to Kakashi and smiled.  
  
Kakashi stared at Seiko's eyes as he shook the hand and smirked under his mask. So Iruka had been talking about Kakashi had he?  
  
"....So I am going to hang out with Seiko for awhile okay Kakashi. See you later." Kakashi popped out of his thoughts as he saw Iruka walk away with Seiko.  
  
It finally dawned on Kakashi what just happened. He let Iruka go away with some stranger that had become a possible threat to his and Iruka's "relationship". Kakashi looked over at the setting sun and realized he was late to work and took off. Kakashi knew he didn't have to worry about Iruka but there was something about Seiko Kakashi didn't like.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka turned over in his bed and let the moonlight shine in his face. The sky was perfectly clear and the stars helped light up the dark room. Iruka turned over again this time realizing his head had somehow gotten to the foot of the bed. He sighed and sat up letting the covers wrap around his body.  
  
Iruka moved over as he noticed something different in his room. His eyes widened as he saw a gray haired shinobi sleeping in a chair pointed to where Iruka had just been sleeping. Iruka shivered at the thought, he might have been having feelings for Kakashi, but he didn't like the thought of people watching him while he slept.  
  
Iruka stared at Kakashi for a second and looked at how the moonlight seemed to bring out the features of the jounin. Iruka slowly crawled over on his bed to where he could lean over the mattress and look at the jounin closer. Was this a dream?  
  
Iruka had been having many dreams lately but this one was different. Iruka looked over the room again before he returned to staring at Kakashi. In his dreams Kakashi was always awake and never had his uniform on so why was this different? Iruka placed his hands on the jounin's face waking up the sleepy Kakashi. Kakashi just stared at Iruka who slowly pulled down the jounin's mask.  
  
Kakashi looked at Iruka and could tell the genin hadn't been sleeping well and it was 4 hours before he had to wake up. Iruka's eyes were dilated and his breath was erratic but he would not take his eyes off of Kakashi's. Kakashi stared silently back and gasped as Iruka slid his hands around the jounin's face and into the jounin's hair. Iruka played in the gray hair for a second and smiled.  
  
"I don't think I am dreaming........but I can't prove that I'm not." Before Kakashi could say something, Iruka pulled him forward and kissed him.  
  
Kakashi stopped breathing as Iruka relaxed his muscles and released the kiss. Kakashi just stared in awe at Iruka while Iruka pulled him off his chair and brought the jounin to where he was sitting. Iruka smiled as he grabbed Kakashi and pulled him down so that the jounin was now over him. Kakashi was about to say something as his face flushed up but Iruka just kissed him again.  
  
"Too bad dreams aren't real eh Kakashi?" Iruka kissed the jounin again before he scooted up on the bed and pulled Kakashi up so he could place his head on the jounin's chest. "I know that this isn't like my other dreams but isn't this so much better?"  
  
Iruka continued to talk to himself, as Kakashi remained silent. Kakashi wanted to tell Iruka right then and there how he felt but judging at the lack of sleep the genin had had and the way Iruka was talking. The teen probably would think it was just a dream and Kakashi wanted to tell him in a better moment, a moment the genin would always remember.  
  
Iruka slowly started to fall asleep as Kakashi began to play with his hair. Kakashi smiled as he reminded himself why he liked Iruka so much. When Iruka was finally down for the count Kakashi slid out of the room and fell asleep with a huge smile on his face. Iruka had dreams about him, Iruka kissed him, and Iruka as far as Kakashi knew it was his.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Iruka! Are we going to practice or am I allowed to sleep! I'm 16 ya know! I need my sleep and if you're not going to train then there is no reason for me to wake up this early!" Kakashi yelled as he went around the house.  
  
Iruka came out of his room mumbling stuff about how Kakashi shouldn't be so loud at 5 am but plopped on the couch making himself comfortable. Kakashi stopped when he saw Iruka's feet hanging over one end of the couch and walked over slowly to see the boy had fallen asleep again.  
  
"WAKE UP!" Iruka fell off the couch and grabbed his chest as if he was afraid that his heart was failing at the young age of 13.  
  
"OH KAMI! Why did you do that Kakashi?" Iruka glared at the jounin as he got up. "And stop covering your face when you are here, it's been over a year since you've lived here yet you still cover it up no matter what I say."  
  
"Well if I do it no matter what you say and you know this then why do you say anything?" Kakashi smirked under his mask.  
  
"Smart mouth." Iruka sighed as Kakashi pulled down his mask and continued to move stuff around. Iruka looked over at him as he moved the couch to the wall leaving a big space in the middle of the living room.  
  
"What are you doing?" Iruka raised one eyebrow at Kakashi.  
  
"We are going to spar, but using limited space. It will teach you to use the room you have more efficiently and help with close combat." Kakashi smiled as he noticed Iruka looked worried.  
  
"But this is the living room! I have breakable stuff everywhere, this is stuff that my parents left." Iruka would have continued but Kakashi gave him an annoyed glare.  
  
"That is why we are training in here. You need to be more careful when you fight so if you have certain environments that call for it you will be prepared."  
  
Iruka nodded as he stared at his stuff for one last time. He moved some of his mom's favorite collectables then went to his room before Kakashi could yell at him. This was going to be a long day.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"I.....hate.....you." Iruka panted as he laid on the ground. "And why .....did you tie......my wrists.....again?"  
  
Kakashi sat down on the ground next to the figure and let the sweat drip down his face. He smiled as he saw Iruka try to get up but from the way he fell and the fact his hands were tied behind his back, it made it very difficult for him. Kakashi sighed, as Iruka was finally able to sit up and glare at the jounin waiting for an answer.  
  
"I tied your hands behind your back to teach you how to fight without your hands and to better balance yourself. About after the third lamp you broke I decided that you needed the training in that too. This is a train as we go session.....and you need help." Kakashi smirked as Iruka's glare deepened.  
  
"I just wanted help in nin jutsus..." Iruka sighed as Kakashi stood up.  
  
"But you can't perfect one thing till you perfect the rest. Remember that Iruka...a leopard can't hide in the shadows until it can control all of its spots." Kakashi tried to do a visual example but after feeling another heat wave from the room he left to go open some windows.  
  
"Turn on the air conditioning! We are inside!" Iruka yelled as Kakashi turned out of sight.  
  
"The bill is already high enough! I'm just opening a few windows...maybe all of them." Iruka sighed loud enough for Kakashi to hear even though he was in the next room.  
  
They had gone through the basics in no time. Kakashi hated to admit it but Iruka knew the basics like no one he had ever met, which gave the shinobi an upper hand since the basics were hardly ever mastered. Iruka was definitely the first of his kind.  
  
Kakashi stayed at the window for a moment letting the cool breeze of summer hit his body. His hair started to go in rhythm along side the wind, which Kakashi mused that it was a dance. He looked over to see Iruka had gotten out of the rope, which he could have done a long time ago but since Kakashi wouldn't let him, he remained in them till the jounin left the room.  
  
Knock. Knock.  
  
Kakashi walked into the living room as Iruka jumped up from the ground and ran to the door. Who would be visiting today? In fact who would be visiting this month? Usually all the Hidden Villages and missions would halt for the month that the participants in the chunin exam would train and heal. Or at least some people would be lucky enough to get a break because the missions in reality never stopped. Kakashi had asked the Hokage for time off to help Iruka, which was granted because many of the other Jounins didn't mind taking his load of jobs for that time.  
  
Kakashi mumbled under his breath as Iruka stepped aside to allow Seiko into their house. Seiko stopped for a second when he noticed Kakashi and looked over the jounin. Kakashi hadn't really bothered putting on a shirt that morning since he planned to do the inside training first, but Iruka was in his usual training outfit. Iruka hadn't noticed at first but Kakashi had put a scarf around his face to cover where his usual facemask would be located and his hair covered his left eye. Iruka laughed as Kakashi looked ridiculous that very second.  
  
"Kakashi why don't you go change." Iruka nodded for Kakashi to go leave and put his mask and headband on but Kakashi just sighed and slowly left. "What brings you here Seiko-san? I thought you would be training with your other two teammates."  
  
"We trained this morning and realized that wasn't helping so we went our separate ways and decided to meet up two weeks before the month is over." Seiko smiled as Iruka put all his hair back into a ponytail. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go training with me for a week?"  
  
Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and was suddenly right beside Iruka. Iruka jumped back from the shock of how Kakashi just decided to pop up when he was going to say something. Seiko looked at Kakashi weird for a moment then smirked very cockily as he realized what was going on or as he thought of the top three reasons Kakashi was so defensive over Iruka and the top two had to deal with the same issues.  
  
"I'm helping him train." Kakashi stated firmly hiding the threatening tone from Iruka but glaring at Seiko.  
  
"Kakashi! Don't be so rude for kami's sake......let me think about it okay Seiko-san. I can give you an answer tomorrow morning." Iruka bowed apologetically as Seiko bowed back.  
  
"Sure thing. Oh yeah and Iruka-san, you missed a piece." Seiko pushed a piece of Iruka's hair behind the boy's ears causing Iruka to blush from embarrassment.  
  
Kakashi received the message. Seiko was now his rival but what got Kakashi going was that Seiko wouldn't be in the Hidden Leaf for long. Why would he want to start a relationship that wouldn't last? Kakashi could only think of a few reasons and all ended with someone getting hurt, mainly Iruka and Kakashi wasn't going to let that happen.  
  
Seiko smirked again at Kakashi causing the jounin to plot ways of killing the genin but decided that wasn't necessary........yet.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
The door closed while Iruka fidgeted with the piece of hair Seiko had just touched. A slight blush formed on his cheeks but he felt a chill go down his spine as he let go and smiled at Kakashi. Kakashi just stared in disbelief. Did this mean Iruka might have feelings for the mist-nin? Kakashi could feel his heart breaking but stopped breathing for a second. He would have to tell Iruka as quickly as possible.  
  
"Kakashi....you wouldn't mind if I went training with Seiko-san right? I mean I think it would be good for me to fight someone else for a change." Iruka stared at Kakashi and felt bad for some reason. He hadn't done anything yet he felt like he needed to apologize. "I'm sor..."  
  
"You can't go." Kakashi interrupted Iruka and stared at him sternly.  
  
"What?" Iruka stared at the jounin with a very confused look.  
  
"I said you ca..."  
  
"What do you think gives you the right to say something like that? Your not my parents nor are you my guardian Kakashi, therefore you have no right to treat me like a kid." Iruka started to walk away but turned around as he walked backwards to his room to pack.  
  
"Why can't I go Kakashi? Give me your reasons to not wanting me to go so that I can think over them while I'm there."  
  
Kakashi sighed for a second. So this is what an argument with Iruka was like, full of sarcasm and cynical bitterness towards the opposing force. Kakashi thought for a second as he heard Iruka close the door to his room. He had so many answers but which ones to tell him. Kakashi went over and entered Iruka's room to find the genin digging through his closet.  
  
"You can't g....you shouldn't go because he has ulterior motives." Kakashi thought about what he just said and then yelled at himself for sounding so much like a sitcom dad.  
  
"What do you assume his motives are Kakashi? Is he going to tell me ghost stories at a campfire, which might cause some strange psychological side effects that will prevent me from performing in the chunin exam? I think I can take care of myself." Iruka rolled his eyes.  
  
"I think he....he likes you Iruka." Iruka looked over at Kakashi with a 'No Duh he likes me because we wouldn't be friends if he hated me' glare.  
  
"I mean he likes you likes you." Iruka looked over at Kakashi again. The jounin was staring at the ground with a few occasional glances at the teen he was talking to.  
  
"What do you think he's going to rape me?" Iruka started laughing at the thought. Was Kakashi serious?  
  
"He might, you never know. He could be desperate." Kakashi looked over at Iruka who just stared at the jounin in disbelief.  
  
"Why in the world are you acting like this? I can take care of myself Kakashi! You don't need to act like some jealous boyfriend, I mean its not like we are lovers." Iruka walked over to Kakashi and put his hands on his hips.  
  
Kakashi stared at Iruka for a second. The genin obviously just wanted to train the best he could but Kakashi didn't want to take the chance of something happening. After all he did love the boy.  
  
"Do you want to be?" Kakashi's voice seemed to echo throughout the entire house as Iruka stared at him trying to break apart the sentence.  
  
"WHAT?" Iruka backed up a few feet.  
  
"Do you want to be lovers?" Kakashi approached Iruka till he backed the boy in the bedpost. Kakashi leaned in a brushed his lips on Iruka's.  
  
Iruka didn't allow his eyes to blink as he stared at Kakashi. Did he just ask what he thought he just asked? Iruka opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out as Kakashi slid his tongue into the boy's mouth. Iruka did the first thing his mind thought of and bit down.  
  
"OW!" Kakashi jolted back putting his fingers on his tongue and was glad to see there was no blood. Kakashi glared at Iruka for a second before he walked over to the genin again.  
  
Iruka tried to back away but didn't have anywhere to go so he fell on the bed. Iruka yelled at himself, being on the bed could make the situation worse. Before Iruka could get up Kakashi pushed him down and started to kiss him. Iruka gasped as one of Kakashi's hands went under his shirt. Kakashi was cold against Iruka's warm body. Kakashi enjoyed how Iruka moved and was working on kissing Iruka's bottom lip when Iruka finally aloud his tongue inside.  
  
Iruka felt scared, happy, confused, passionate, and weak all at once. He knew that he could throw Kakashi off of him but for some reason he felt that all his strength had left him. Iruka thought of ways he could over power the jounin but in reality he would only be able to hold his own for a while because Kakashi was still stronger than him, but then again did he want to leave?  
  
They were on the bed. Iruka was sandwiched in between the bed and Kakashi. Iruka's mind thought the situation over and over again before he realized Kakashi had undid his shirt. Iruka tried to move now he wasn't ready. He loved Kakashi but he was only 13 he couldn't, not yet. Iruka started to squirm a bit as Kakashi kissed his neck.  
  
Kakashi started to move more gently as Iruka squirmed. He watched Iruka closely waiting to see what the boy would do when it hit him. What was he doing? Kakashi all the sudden felt very sick, he was sick. He stopped what he was doing and moved away off of Iruka. What gave him the right to do that to Iruka? Iruka wasn't his and even if he was, Kakashi didn't have a right to touch Iruka without his consent. Kakashi felt dirty all of the sudden.  
  
Iruka was frozen. He couldn't move from where he was let alone breath. What had just happened? One second him and Kakashi were so close to each other and now there was only a cool air moving over his body. Iruka slowly turned his head to see Kakashi with a very mad expression on his face staring at the wall. Was he responsible for making Kakashi mad?  
  
Kakashi just stared until he got a chill and looked over at Iruka who stared straight back. As soon as their eyes met Kakashi turned away. He couldn't even look at Iruka now, what if Iruka hated him? What if he had ruined their friendship? Kakashi knew that there had been many other incidents but this one was different. Kakashi got up off the bed and left the room as Iruka watched him.  
  
Iruka heard the shower turn on and decided this was a good time to move. He got up and looked in the mirror. His hair and fallen down when he was on the bed. Iruka let his hair fall on his face as he followed the path Kakashi had just gone on. Iruka had to apologize for making Kakashi mad. He opened the door to the restroom and saw that there was no steam. Kakashi was taking a cold shower?  
  
Kakashi turned around as he heard the shower door open and was surprised to see Iruka. He looked down this time trying to avoid eye contact. He let the water fall on him even if he was still in his cloths. Kakashi needed to cool off quick so he didn't bother taking off his cloths in the shower. Kakashi turned around to face Iruka and was shocked as he felt two arms wrap around his body.  
  
Iruka hugged Kakashi and placed his head on the jounin's chest. He waited for a response and smiled softly when he wasn't pushed off. The cold water caused him to shiver a little bit but then he ignored it and buried his face into Kakashi's chest.  
  
"I'm sorry Kakashi. Please don't be mad." Iruka whispered softly.  
  
Kakashi just stared down amazed at Iruka. Kakashi was the one that should be apologizing yet Iruka was the one that felt guilty. Kakashi didn't know what to do so he grabbed Iruka and hugged the teen tightly. Iruka looked up at Kakashi and smiled before he leaned upward and kissed the jounin. After that Iruka let go and started to leave the shower but felt Kakashi's hand wrap around his own.  
  
"I love you Iruka." Iruka turned around and blushed as Kakashi brushed his lips against Iruka's. "I don't deserve it, but I was still hoping that maybe you could love me back."  
  
Kakashi kissed Iruka again as Iruka blushed beautifully. After Kakashi released the kiss he smiled at Iruka as the genin put his fingers through the gray hair. Iruka smiled gently at him before he kissed the jounin.  
  
"I love you too Kakashi."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Sorry Seiko-san I won't be joining you on your trip." Iruka did a small bow as he waved his friend bye. "Well that wasn't so hard now was it, Kakashi?"  
  
Iruka turned to a tree where Kakashi had been hiding through out the whole conversation.  
  
"How did you know I was there?" Kakashi popped out and stared at his love. "Don't tell me I'm getting that sloppy."  
  
"I don't know. Just felt you there...............maybe it's because we've lived together for so long. Like one of those unexplainable bonds." Iruka added plenty of sarcasm as he spoke which made Kakashi smirk.  
  
"Smart-aleck."  
  
"Rusty old man."  
  
"Brat."  
  
"Jerk."  
  
"Bookworm."  
  
"Playboy."  
  
"Uke."  
  
"........"  
  
"I WIN!" Kakashi grabbed Iruka by the hand and did a few hand seals before Iruka could even realize what he was doing they were surrounded by smoke.  
  
They appeared in Kakashi's room and landed on the bed. Iruka looked around and smirked. He still had to train before the competition, the last part of the exam would be in one week and Iruka had only train for half the time since him and Kakashi had gotten together. Iruka looked over as he noticed the position they were in. Kakashi was over him grinning like mad under his facemask and Iruka was lying on the bed with his hands pinned down by the jounin's hands.  
  
"Teme....." Iruka whispered as he kissed Kakashi.  
  
"You're still on the bottom Ir-UKE! ? " Kakashi laughed as Iruka pushed him off the bed.  
  
They hadn't had sex yet because their relationship was still new and Kakashi didn't want to force Iruka into anything just because Kakashi was older and Iruka was younger. They both wanted to just let things play out.  
  
Iruka jumped off Kakashi's bed before he went into the kitchen and made some ramen for dinner. It was getting late and Iruka had a busy day ahead of him. He felt Kakashi's arms wrap around his waist was smiled as the jounin leaned over his shoulder.  
  
"What are making?"  
  
"I am making noodles a la miso!" Iruka smiled as he heard Kakashi laugh.  
  
"My favorite." Kakashi kissed the back of Iruka's head before he left the kitchen only to return with a manga in his hand.  
  
"You know for a genius your reading material is a bit off." Iruka wasn't a big manga fan; personally he loved to read educational books or true stories.  
  
"I have to turn off my brain sometime you know."  
  
"I know, and I have been telling you to turn it back on for the past three years." Iruka chided cynically.  
  
Kakashi just sighed and left the kitchen to go sit in the living room. First Iruka had made him promise to wait and read Icha Icha Paradise when he was actually legal to when he had first moved in and now he was being made fun of. Kakashi looked over and saw the book Iruka was currently reading.  
  
"The Different Legend." Kakashi read out loud than looked at the back. The book was about certain types of nin jutsus and jitsu that had been mastered and talked about which ones were hard to do. Kakashi went straight to the page that Iruka had left off on.  
  
Kakashi skimmed the page real quick and was amazed to find his name in there. Iruka had circled it and the short paragraph of information that came along with it. How odd. Normally Kakashi would get info if he was ever put into a book but he had never heard of this one. It talked about how he had mastered almost 1000 jutsus. Kakashi laughed when he thought about it. In a few years he would know more than that with the missions he usually got.  
  
"Kakashi dinner is......" Iruka stopped when he saw Kakashi reading his book and smiled.  
  
"It doesn't count as reading if your only reading what they put about you in it." Kakashi glared up about to say something but then frowned. Iruka knew him too good.  
  
It didn't take long before they had finished eating. Kakashi loved to eat alone with Iruka, he wouldn't have to eat fast or starve just to hide his face. In fact he wasn't allowed to hide his face when he was home unless they had someone over because Iruka said home is a place without secrets. Kakashi stared around his room as Iruka fell asleep on his chest with their arms wrapped around each other. He was home.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka whispered softly as the sun filled room gave the situation a quiet peace.  
  
"Hn?" Kakashi smiled as he moved his head and faced Iruka who smiled boyishly back. The golden rays of the sun illuminating his already tan skin.  
  
"We can't stay like this all day. It's just about noon, and I have to go do a lot of things before I can train today." Iruka untangled their legs and got up.  
  
Kakashi let out a huff as Iruka jumped off the bed and stood over the jounin who was trying his best to seem sleepy. Iruka couldn't hold down his smile he was just going to have a great day. He looked around on the floor to find another shirt to change into after all pajamas weren't something you could wear in public.  
  
Iruka smiled as he found a t-shirt that belonged to Kakashi on the floor. He quickly put it on and smiled at the jounin who smirked mischievously back at the boy. Kakashi pointed at Iruka letting his smirk only get bigger.  
  
"What?" Iruka looked over at the mirror and jumped back when he saw a very noticeable mark on his neck.  
  
"What the crap!?"  
  
At that Kakashi started laughing. He laughed till he felt the bed move from someone getting on it and turned around in enough time to see Iruka push him off the bed. Kakashi hit the ground with a hard thud and let out a little breath of pain before he looked over at Iruka whose face returned to it's blushing phase.  
  
"Kakashi! This isn't funny. Now what am I supposed to do? It's too hot to wear a turtleneck or a scarf! And all I have are t-shirts." Iruka looked worried.  
  
Why wouldn't he be worried? Iruka had to meet Mizuki later for lunch so they could catch up and talk about the competition. He had a session with the Hokage after lunch, which he knew the Hokage would ask questions. He was going to meet some of his old friends.....and if he ran into Kurenai or Suzume his life would be over. Iruka had his first hickey.  
  
"Hey I got an idea." Kakashi smiled before he left the room only to return quickly with a black object in his hand.  
  
"What is that?" Iruka prayed it wasn't some girl's necklace or something worse, but he was desperate.  
  
"It's a dog collar."  
  
Not that desperate.  
  
"I'm not wearing it." Iruka looked at Kakashi who showed the collar to Iruka fully.  
  
It had a black band that would be buttoned together and had a silver charm that read 'D-chan' on it. Iruka knew the collar was for one of Kakashi's summoning dogs and the fact that it had chan on it didn't help.  
  
"I never said you had to." Kakashi smiled and put the collar in his pocket. "Oh yeah tell me how the meeting with Hokage goes."  
  
Before Kakashi knew it Iruka had the collar and was putting it on. The collar fit and it didn't look too bad......Iruka wanted to die. Kakashi told Iruka to suck it up and then laughed again before Iruka kicked him out of the room. Iruka looked in the mirror and grabbed a pair of white shorts to put on but left his fish net under shirt on but this time as a regular shirt.  
  
Iruka looked in the mirror. He put his hair down and stared at someone he didn't recognize. The collar and the different outfit made Iruka seem older which made Iruka happy. He felt slightly self-conscious about the fish net shirt though because only playboys would wear their undershirts as regular shirts. Iruka looked in the mirror again and smiled. Maybe a new look was in order.  
  
Kakashi was cooking some ramen when he saw Iruka and just stared at the boy walking across the house. Iruka looked up at him and blushed.  
  
"How do I look?" Iruka looked at the ground.  
  
"A lot more appetizing then my ramen right now." Iruka's blush deepened as he heard Kakashi say this. Kakashi smiled. "I think it's the new you."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"  
  
Iruka stared at the ground with his cheeks slightly pink as Mizuki laughed. Iruka had barely made it into the restaurant when Mizuki recognized him and laughed at the collar. Iruka liked the new look but knew that it was a big change for him and that people would take it differently.  
  
"I haven't seen you since we were told to go train and heal! I come back after a few weeks and you look.......look like this! Wow Iruka! It looks good, I think you needed a change from that blue suit you always wore." Mizuki stated as he wiped a tear that had formed from behind his eye.  
  
"You still didn't have to laugh so hard. We got kicked out of the restaurant." Iruka mumbled as they walked on the street.  
  
"My bad. I just wasn't expecting it that's all." Mizuki smirked as Iruka glared at him. "It looks good really."  
  
They stopped at the ramen shop near Iruka's house and sat at a booth. They started talking about all the training they had done or lack of and how many attacks they had learned. Mizuki had finally mastered his fuma-clan shuriken, and Iruka had learned how to maintain balance without his hands that helped him speed up in his dodging. (Thanks to Kakashi of course!)  
  
"Iruka?"  
  
"What Mizuki?"  
  
"What do you plan on doing when you become a chunin?" Mizuki placed his hands behind his head and leaned back on the wall they were standing by.  
  
"I don't know......I guess I have been so busy lately it just slipped my mind. I will probably like to go work with the intelligence team like a spy but you have to a really good chunin or a jounin to get that kind of mission. How about you?"  
  
"As long as I have power I don't care where I end up in rank. The chunin title will help me get missions though." Mizuki smirked and looked over at the clock. "You have a meeting with Hokage-sama at 3, yes?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Your late." With that Mizuki laughed at the cloud of smoke that was now beside him. He fiddled with his hitai-ate leaf headband that was now around his neck.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Man! Sorry it took so long. School and the huge flu epidemic that is going around slowed me down. Not that I got sick or anything........I ADMIT IT! I had writers block for a while. There is this one part I want to write but I need to do these chapters first or else you'll be at a lost.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'Replies '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
dtamerx: I am gald you at least found my story lol! Now I don't think I'm the best......but I will keep my kakairu-writing-ness unless I get offered a million dollars to give it up then I would most likely.......ah who am I kidding I probably would still keep it.  
  
SquirrelOfShadows: well lskdoiewhfdslahnsighsiofhweoief to you too. Lol.  
  
JadeDragoness: *feels proud* why thank you! I tried to make last chapter not so angsty....it seems that I have put Kakashi and Iruka through enough so I took a small break.  
  
Sausweet: Hehehe don't worry there will more unwanted attention and Kakashi shall be green with envy and jealousy coming up.  
  
Muchacha: Kakashi is confusing isn't he! But at his age group I think he's allowed to be.  
  
Iceheart19: Wow I really love that definition for love and then again I really love FAKE hehehe. *smirks*  
  
Jada Flame: *squeals back at Jada for being squealed at* there is a first time for everything!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`' '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
I hate to tell you guys this but I'm afraid that I wont be able to update for two weeks due to the fact I am going to be in Texas but I promise when I get I will update at least two chapters a week for a while. *smiles* I hope you all have a great Christmas and a happy new year! Oh and happy Chanukah and Kwanzaa to my other ppl out there! 


	8. Chunin Exam

I do not own Naruto! Because if I did......there would be a lot of strange couplings! *laughs*  
  
Hey well I am back!! Sorry it has taken so long but I am glad to finally be able to update.  
  
Thank you for all the reviews and answers to my questions! I would reply to all of them but there were just so many and I wanted to update as soon as possible! Please review for this chapter and I can reply in chapter 9!!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 8: Chunin Exam  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Iruka did you really have to wear that outfit to our session? You look so different." The Hokage puffed on his pipe a bit as Iruka jumped on the railing of the balcony.  
  
"Different isn't a bad thing Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled as he walked the railing to where the Hokage was sitting.  
  
"Never said it was, but do you mind not walking on the railing I called you to ask you a question."  
  
Iruka looked at the Hokage for a second flashing a boyish grin before he jumped off and walked to the Hokage. He sighed as he sat down on one of the patio chairs and waited for the Hokage to get done smoking.  
  
"You know smoking isn't good for your health." Iruka smirked as he began their sessional argument.  
  
"But it is good for stress." The Hokage puffed again and leaned back into the chair to show how relaxed he was.  
  
"It takes off 15 minutes of your life with every puff." Iruka leaned back and waited for 'the professor' to say something in return.  
  
"But I don't have much longer to live so I might as well be happy. If I am stressed out I will die quicker anyway." Iruka gave up and waited for the Hokage to finish his last puff.  
  
"Iruka I have noticed a change in your behavior since the month of training has ended. Has anything happened?"  
  
"A lot actually but nothing that you should be worried about." Iruka smiled to show he was fine.  
  
"I didn't say it was a bad change. I'm actually happy with it. You smile a lot more and seem to be at peace. I was just wondering what brought it on?" Iruka blushed as he thought of the main reason for all the change.  
  
The Hokage let Iruka take his time after all the boy would give him some kind of answer. Iruka blushed then opened his mouth but closed it. He hadn't really discussed their relationship with Kakashi so he didn't feel right discussing it with the Hokage. Iruka knew that Kakashi would most likely want to keep it secret for the time being because he felt Iruka would be under more stress during the exam if he had to think about how people felt about him.  
  
Iruka sighed as he stared the Hokage in the eye changing his smile to the usual expression it had shown for so many years.  
  
"I don't really want to talk about it right Hokage-sama, but I will tell when I'm ready to." Iruka smiled when the Hokage nodded.  
  
They chatted for a bit longer before the Hokage had to go back to his paperwork. He sighed as he waved Iruka off but the stopped all the sudden.  
  
"Iruka!" Iruka appeared back in front of the Hokage and look around for the reason he was called back.  
  
"Don't worry I was just wondering why you were wearing a collar? You used to hate wearing any type of jewelry because you said it made you more feminine so I was wondering why you were wearing it now?" Iruka blushed again as he put his hand over the collar.  
  
"Heh. That's one of those things I will have to tell you about later.....but I really do enjoy wearing it because it makes me different from the crowed." Iruka smiled as the Hokage bowed.  
  
"And different isn't a bad thing." The Hokage dismissed Iruka before he went into his office to finish the work he had stopped a half hour ago. He sighed and looked at all the papers he would have to go through.  
  
"I really need an assistant."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"For our first match we will have Mizuki from the Hidden Leaf against Tai from the Hidden Sand. Begin." The judge stepped away from the two genin as they got in fighting stances.  
  
"Crap! I haven't missed anything have I Asuma?" Iruka ran on to the balcony where all the participants got to watch the matches.  
  
"Nope it just started." Asuma scooted over so Iruka could stand next to him. He looked Iruka over and noticed Iruka was wearing one of Kakashi's old training outfits. "Nice outfit."  
  
Iruka looked at his outfit. He was wearing a black shirt that was ripped around the collar to show it used to be a turtleneck and had pants on with the bottoms wrapped so that it appeared they were connected to his sandals. Iruka just shrugged and returned his gaze to the battle his best friend was fighting.  
  
Mizuki pulled out two shuriken hurling them to his opponent. The Hidden Sand nin Tai dodged both effortlessly and jolted towards Mizuki kicking the genin straight in the jaw. Mizuki went flying back but landed on his feet with a smirk on his face as one of the thrown shuriken hit Tai in his leg. One thing Mizuki worked on was his clan's art of shuriken throwing.  
  
"Wow Mizuki has improved." Iruka smiled down at his friend, "He better win this one so we will get to face off against each other."  
  
Mizuki gritted his teeth as Tai dodged another attack. The battle was becoming a game dodge ball; he would have to end it soon. Mizuki did a few seals and disappeared from the visible area they had been fighting in. Mizuki looked over at the shadows as he hid in a bush, trap him there. Tai moved around slowly trying to sense Mizuki but since the genin wasn't using any chakra it was hard.  
  
"Looks like Mizuki retreated......" Suzume muttered as Iruka just noticed she was beside him. Iruka smirked and looked back at the battlefield.  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Tai couldn't move fast enough as tons of kunai came flying at him from the shadows. Tai fell as he coughed up blood from the sudden bombardment. Mizuki smiled as he pulled out his biggest shuriken that was attached to his back holster. The battle was over when Tai fell over unconscious nearly at the chance of bleeding to death from Mizuki last attack.  
  
"Mizuki you won!" Iruka ran over to greet his friend from the battle as Mizuki smirked.  
  
"Of course I did, who else is supposed to face you after your next round?" Iruka smiled and headed down to the battlefield. It was his turn.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi turned over in his bed slowly. The room was filled with light showing that it was about midday. Kakashi sighed as he threw his arm across the bed to realize there a lump of mass missing. Kakashi tilted his head up and looked around the room.  
  
"Iruka?"  
  
Kakashi made his way out of his room and walked into the living room to see that Iruka wasn't there either. He sighed and made his way to the kitchen, there was something bothering him though, he felt like he was forgetting something. Kakashi went to the cabinet to see a small neatly written note on blue paper.  
  
"The Chunin exam is today! Wish me luck; I hope to see you there. Love, 'Ruka." Kakashi read the note out loud in a monotone voice.  
  
"CRAP!" Kakashi ran into his room as quick as he could changing into cloths. "I SUCK! Please let Iruka not have gone yet. Please let Iruka not have gone yet."  
  
It wasn't long before Iruka's house was empty and one very guilty feeling jounin was running for the stadium that the last part of the exam was going to be held in. Kakashi ran up the stairs till he made it to one part of the balcony realizing this was the area the Hokage was at he looked around and walked up nonchalantly to peer over and see who was facing off.  
  
"Hello Kakashi." The Hokage smoked his pipe as Kakashi did a small wave and looked around the audience and other balconies to find Iruka. "Iruka is just about to start."  
  
"I didn't miss it?" Kakashi sighed in relief as he saw a small Iruka run down on the field for his fight. "I ran all this way thinking he was going to yell at me and he isn't even fighting yet."  
  
"Well even though you were late to the exam I'm glad you at least came on time for your roommate's fight. I swear Kakashi what are you doing that makes you late to almost everything?" Kakashi curved his one eye at the Hokage before turning back to the field to watch Iruka.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Seiko-san? I didn't know I was facing you. I though I was facing your other comrade from the Mist." Iruka did a small bow before he got into a fighting stance.  
  
"You were late to the briefing so you didn't hear about him getting disqualified. Oh well too late to fill you in now." Seiko smirked as he in return got into fighting stance.  
  
"Begin." The judge jumped out of the way as Iruka made the first assault.  
  
Iruka ran straight for Seiko as the Mist Nin prepared to block but instead of attacking he did a flip over the genin. Seiko was barely able to block the attack but twisted Iruka over sending Iruka to the ground. Iruka hit but got on his hands and jumped away as several kunai hit the ground where his body used to be.  
  
"Iruka has improved." The Hokage leaned over as he got up to stand next to Kakashi. "The way he fights has changed a bit."  
  
Seiko slid on the ground and lunged forward once again at Iruka. The mist Nin did a few hand seals before his body turned into liquid and scattered everywhere around Iruka. Iruka looked at the ground watching every puddle carefully waiting for an attack.  
  
"He always had a unique way of fighting." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and watched the battle. "But the only way it's unique is because it's text book fighting."  
  
Sharp needles flew out of the water as Iruka put his hands up to block all the ones he could. He would have to wait for an opening. He grabbed three shuriken from its holster and threw them at the ground. He watched to see if he could pin point where the needles were coming from when they deflected his weapons. The left.  
  
"He's put a lot of effort into books its about time we start seeing the outcome." The Hokage took another puff before raising an eyebrow at the match. "Interesting."  
  
Seiko went flying into the wall as Iruka sped up and ran up the wall to where the body had impacted. Seiko jumped out of the dust and grabbed Iruka throwing him to the ground but Iruka landed gracefully trying to dodge all the kunai being thrown at him. A few cuts and scrapes were okay.  
  
"Kakashi.......you trained with Iruka, yes?" The Hokage asked the jounin next to him not bothering to take his eyes off the match. He waited for Kakashi to nod. "Then can you explain why he is only using basic moves.........I thought he would have learned some special jutsus from you but he hasn't done anything out of the basics."  
  
"He didn't want to learn any jutsus, only wanted more practice." Kakashi smirked under his mask.  
  
Iruka was panting as sweat dripped off his face and his hair stuck to the outline of his head. So much for the ponytail holder he had bought that morning. Seiko smirked realizing Iruka was trying to recuperate and started performing more hand seals. He was going to end this now.  
  
Seiko looked at Iruka curiously when he noticed the genin was grinning. What was he up to? But before Seiko could finish the thought and the rest of his seals his head and body snapped up as another Iruka kicked his jaw. A loud crack could be heard through out the arena as Seiko flew in the air hitting the ground harshly when he spat out blood.  
  
"What were you saying?" The Hokage reverted his eyes to Kakashi for a moment then back at Iruka.  
  
"He is a master of the basics." The Hokage smirked at that comment.  
  
Seiko pulled out another kunai to block Iruka's attack. He was slowly being backed up to the wall and needed to find more room to perform any of his jutsus. He pushed Iruka over and lunged in the air before he felt something pull at his ankle sending him to the ground. Seiko looked at his foot to see a piece of string tied around his ankle. He looked up at Iruka before his body was torn up by several weapons turning it into a log with a poof of smoke.  
  
Seiko fell down a few feet from where his 'body' now log was. He moved his arm to his back pulling out a kunai before he grinned. Iruka had got his real form even when he had hidden so well. The judge looked over at the two genins and shook his head.  
  
"Winner is Iruka from the Hidden Leaf." Iruka went over to Seiko and helped his friend up as the crowed cheered.  
  
"No hard feelings Seiko-san." Iruka put Seiko's hand over his shoulder helping the genin walk to the sidelines where the medical team waited for both of them.  
  
"Good fight Iruka-kun. Maybe I can spar you again sometime." Seiko sat down on a stool as he Iruka was taken up to where Mizuki was waiting.  
  
Iruka ran to the top of the stairs nearly collapsing as he made it to the top but was caught by another body.  
  
"Got your note 'Ruka." Kakashi helped Iruka over the wall as the genin blushed.  
  
"Glad you didn't sleep in." Iruka smiled as Mizuki ran up to him.  
  
"That was a good battle Iruka. I hope you're not too tired because we still have to face off in a little bit." Mizuki smirked as he leaned against the wall next to Iruka.  
  
"Not too tired at all."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"This match is Mizuki from the Hidden Leaf versus Iruka from the Hidden Leaf." Mizuki smirked as Iruka did a small bow. "Begin."  
  
Both boys smiled as they got into fighting stance.  
  
"You first Iruka." Mizuki folded his fingers telling his friend to come at him. Iruka nodded before he charged.  
  
Mizuki blocked Iruka's kunai with his shuriken and then grabbed Iruka's wrist swinging him to the ground before jumping back.  
  
// Iruka would have the upper hand in close combat, so I should do distant attacks. // Mizuki smiled as he got far enough to perform one of his attacks.  
  
"Kakashi! How long have you been here?" Kurenai ran up to stand beside Asuma. "Iruka-kun is doing good isn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, I saw his first fight." Kakashi curved his eye.  
  
"I can't wait to see what he will be able to do in a few years!" Kurenai squealed as she thought about the boy she babysat beating up assassins.  
  
"Iruka might be smart but I don't think he'll make it past chunin." Kakashi and Kurenai both looked over at Asuma who was watching the battle intensively.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi didn't know whether he should be taking that as an insult or something for Iruka.  
  
"I mean I have seen many people fight, and he has the makings of a chunin but I doubt he would be able to make it to jounin." Kurenai glared at Asuma.  
  
"Why do you say that? He is a great fighter. I have watched this exam too and he seems to be the best he has ever done before." Kurenai smiled as Iruka dodged another one of Mizuki's attacks.  
  
"But that's the point. I'm afraid your little Iruka-kun has already reached his peak." Kakashi looked down at the battle and watched each of the fighters move.  
  
"Asuma?" Kakashi looked over at Asuma.  
  
Iruka was able to hit Mizuki in the arm but got sent back about thirty feet after Mizuki used the wind shuriken.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"I'm afraid your right." Kakashi mumbled as he looked back at the battle.  
  
Iruka went on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He rolled to the right when Mizuki threw some more devices at him and was barely able to evade.  
  
Mizuki gritted his teeth as he saw his friend staring up at him from the ground. This battle was taking too long.  
  
"Iruka....you have gotten stronger but you're still weaker than me." Mizuki smirked as Iruka stood up again. "You will always be weaker than me."  
  
"Shut up and fight Mizuki." Iruka got in a stance to defend himself as a large wave of pressure slammed him against the wall.  
  
Iruka spit up some blood, as he looked at Mizuki shocked.  
  
"Iruka you really get on my nerves you know that." Mizuki started spinning his biggest shuriken in his hand. "Your so weak yet you can always hold your own."  
  
"And always will..." Iruka braced himself as the shuriken came flying at him. He couldn't dodge.  
  
"I still don't see what you guys are talking about. He doesn't seem to be doing to well though." Kurenai bit her bottom lip as she watched the battle.  
  
"Kurenai, Asuma is the best judge of talent and people I know....as much as I hate to admit it I believe he is right. Sure Iruka could make more improvements but nothing to spectacular." Kakashi glared at the battlefield.  
  
Kakashi closed his eyes. Iruka had already reached his prime at the age of 13! He didn't want to believe it but what he saw down there made sense. Maybe if he trained Iruka a little harder then the teen would be able to learn new things.  
  
"And it is over." Asuma mumbled causing Kakashi to open his eyes.  
  
Iruka opened his eyes as he felt blood run down his neck and arms. He couldn't move his head until he forced himself off the wall to realize his hair didn't follow. Iruka turned to see six inched of his hair pinned to the wall by shuriken.  
  
"Now you look more like a boy." Mizuki smirked as his friend glared at him. Iruka was about to get ready to battle when he collapsed in pain.  
  
"Ahhh." He gritted his teeth as his vision blurred and he curled into a ball. He heard some laughter and forced himself to get up.  
  
Iruka looked around and saw blurry images. Mizuki had done more damage than he gave credit for. Iruka turned to where he heard Mizuki's voice and tried to charge the boy but was tripped.  
  
"C'mon Iruka." Mizuki taunted before he felt Iruka kick his feet from under him and jumped on him.  
  
Iruka had Mizuki pinned to the ground with a kunai shaking in his hand. He was about to say something when he collapsed unconscious to the ground. Mizuki stared wide-eyed until he checked to make sure Iruka was alive.  
  
"Winner is Mizuki from the Leaf."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka frowned at the mirror as he thumbed his hair. It was about the length of Kakashi's hair but a little shorter and didn't go everywhere. He had long hair all of his life and now he could see his ears.......without hair behind them.  
  
"You look so different." Iruka turned around to see Kakashi had been watching him.  
  
"I hope it'll grow out quickly." Iruka blushed as he walked away for the mirror.  
  
"No I wasn't talking about that." Iruka raised an eyebrow at Kakashi. "The vest is the biggest change."  
  
Iruka smiled as he zipped up his chunin vest. He had made it. In fact him and Mizuki were the only two to make the rank in the Leaf.  
  
"Oh that reminds me! Seiko-san is leaving today." Iruka slipped his sandals on and smiled as Kakashi cringed at the name. "I have to tell him bye."  
  
"I will go with you." Kakashi sighed as he lifted up his mask and followed Iruka out of the house. "He better not try anything funny."  
  
"Stop it Kakashi! Seiko-san doesn't think of me like that, we are just friends." Iruka waited for Kakashi to walk right next to him. "He is just friendly that's all."  
  
"Friendly enough to want to....." Iruka placed his hand over Kakashi's mask and blushed.  
  
"It's not like that." Iruka let go of Kakashi.  
  
"Then why are you blushing?" Kakashi ruffled Iruka's short hair and sighed. "Lets just say goodbye and then leave."  
  
They walked to the gate where all the visiting genins were to leave from and quickly found the mist nin. Seiko was talking to one of his teammates when he noticed Iruka and smiled, waving for the teen to join him.  
  
"Seiko-san!" Iruka ran up to his friend as Kakashi just stood a few feet away.  
  
"Hey Iruka! I guess this is goodbye." Seiko did a small bow as Iruka smiled. "I hope our villages remain in semi good relations so we will never have to fight again."  
  
"I'm glad we got to fight." Iruka held out his hand to all the sudden be pulled forward into a kiss.  
  
Iruka's eyes went wide as he felt Seiko cup his face with his hands and try to deepen the kiss but Iruka wouldn't open his mouth. Kakashi was about to kill Seiko when Iruka pushed away as Seiko smiled a glared at Kakashi. Iruka backed away slowly from Seiko until he was beside Kakashi and then waved the mist nin off.  
  
"B..b-b-b-b-bye!" Iruka stuttered out before Kakashi started to move towards Seiko. "No Kakashi!"  
  
Iruka held back the jounin as Seiko disappeared in the forest.  
  
"Iruka? What was that?" Kakashi glared at Iruka as Iruka blushed. "Hn?"  
  
"I...I-I-I-I...." Kakashi sighed as Iruka tried to say something.  
  
"Iruka you need to b..." Kakashi was interrupted as Iruka kissed him quickly on the lips before running back into the village. "I see how it is."  
  
Kakashi grinned as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed the shorthaired boy. At least now Seiko was gone and they could really begin their relationship.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"WHAT?" Kakashi glared at the Hokage as the older man took his pipe out of his mouth.  
  
"I said Iruka was sent on a mission a few minutes ago and he told me to tell you so you would know why he was gone. In the mean time though I have a mission for you." The Hokage looked at his paperwork he had piled on his desk and sighed.  
  
"What is the mission?" Kakashi tried to hide the fact he was disappointed that Iruka was gone. They hadn't officially celebrated his graduation to chunin.  
  
"I need you to deliver this for me." The Hokage threw Kakashi a scroll and went back to his work.  
  
Kakashi looked at the scroll and noticed the sealing was done in a first priority matter. He looked at the Hokage and waited for the rest of the information for his mission but noticed that the Hokage wasn't planning on talking anymore.  
  
"Hokage-sama?" The elder man looked up as he puffed on his pipe a few more times. "Where do I need to deliver this to?  
  
"Don't worry Kakashi, they will find you." The Hokage smiled and went back to his paper work.  
  
"Hokage this isn't a real mission is it?" Kakashi sighed as he placed one of his hands over his face. He hated playing games like this.  
  
"Oh no it is a real mission for you, only you though. Do you have a problem with it?" The Hokage folded his hands over his desk and smiled when Kakashi shook his head and left. "You can come out now Iruka."  
  
Iruka came out from behind the office through a hidden door and smiled. "Do you think he noticed me?"  
  
"No." The Hokage smiled as Iruka smiled even brighter.  
  
"Yes this is going good so far!" Iruka started to head for the door when he heard the Hokage clear his throat.  
  
"So what are you up to Iruka?" Iruka blushed at the ground before he smiled at the Hokage.  
  
"Kakashi's birthday." The Hokage gave Iruka a look before he glanced at his calendar.  
  
"Iruka....Kakashi's birthday isn't for another three months."  
  
"I know but he is always busy around then so I never get to celebrate his birthday. I wanted to celebrate now since missions seem to be on the low due to the relations with the Hidden Cloud." Iruka had a small blush on his cheeks as he played with his short hair.  
  
"Well it was a good idea Iruka. Go ahead and have some fun but remember your still kids." Iruka nodded and left the office as the Hokage glanced out the window.  
  
It was a beautiful day in Konoha Village as the clear sky let the summer- sun shine over all the people in sight. Kakashi walked down the streets hoping to find clues to whatever game the Hokage was playing with him but was sad to find nothing.  
  
"Yondaime used to do this to me! Ugh!" Kakashi hit his head on a tree before climbing up it and sitting on the biggest branch.  
  
He remembered how his old sensei would make him go on useless missions just to see how long it would be before the boy would break. The tall blonde always smiling until the situation got serious. Kakashi hated to admit how much he missed those days; it had been almost two years since Yondaime died.  
  
"If it isn't my arch rival Kakashi!" Kakashi moaned as he closed his eyes wishing that the scroll belonged to Gai.  
  
"Hey Gai."  
  
"Hello! Hey can I barrow some of your books you have at home? I'm going on a mission so I need something to take up the time." Gai hopped onto the branch and sat in front of Kakashi.  
  
"Only if I can barrow some of your good looks." Kakashi smirked under his mask.  
  
"Yeah right! You wish you were the beautiful green beast of the Hidden Leaf village but the only thing you are is a two-bit talent. Kakashi do you hear me you are just a lazy bum who is only good for training against." Gai smiled as he glared at his foe.  
  
"Sorry Gai did you say something?" Gai turned away and shook his fist at the air.  
  
"I will let that slide Kakashi. You are cool like that, that is why you are my rival!"  
  
"I guess I will go get you a book then." Kakashi jumped off the branch as Gai followed. "I guess I am the only one playing the Hokage's game then."  
  
"Game?"  
  
"Don't worry about it I will find the answer before he brings in another puppet." Kakashi continued talking more to himself than to Gai.  
  
"Where is Iruka?" Gai looked up the street. They were almost at Kakashi's house.  
  
"Oh Iruka is on a mission. Talk about lucky, he got a mission even when he hasn't been chunin for longer than a day."  
  
"So have you asked him out yet?" Kakashi's eyes widened but quickly went back to normal. Gai was always blunt so why did it surprise him. Gai had known about Kakashi's crush for a while.  
  
"Sort of....I will tell you about it later okay. I'm not in the mood today." Kakashi sighed as Gai nodded. "I'm so tired!"  
  
"Here we are!" Gai jumped on the first step as Kakashi walked up and unlocked the door.  
  
"Here you go Gai." It didn't take Kakashi but one step in the house before he saw a book he had left on the table next to the door and handed it to Gai.  
  
Gai smiled and left happy that he was able to get some reading material. Kakashi turned around and flipped on the lights to his house. It seemed to be really empty for some reason but he just brushed it off as fatigue and went to his room. With Iruka gone for who knows how long he would probably have to keep himself from trashing the place.  
  
Kakashi took off his mask and threw off is sandals before he fell on his bed. It didn't take long before he a light sleep started to over take him but then he felt something move on his bed.  
  
Kakashi didn't move and waited for his bed to move a little bit more before he turned around with a kunai in his hand that had been hidden under his pillow and threw it at the object trying to get on his bed. Kakashi saw Iruka dodge the kunai barely before the kunai lodged itself into the wall.  
  
"Iruka?" Kakashi stared as the boy who was holding his chest.  
  
"I try to do something nice but no I get attacked. Gosh Kakashi my heart stopped beating for a few seconds." Iruka hit Kakashi with a pillow before Kakashi laid back down on his bed.  
  
Kakashi closed his eyes as Iruka crawled over next to him. Iruka smiled as Kakashi seemed so defenseless and let his hand slide on Kakashi's back. Kakashi shuddered form the instant chills from Iruka's soft touches.  
  
"So do you have my scroll?" Kakashi opened his eyes and turned over to see Iruka smiling at him.  
  
"Your scroll?" Kakashi glared at the teen as he pulled out the scroll Hokage had handed him and gave it to Iruka.  
  
"Actually its for you." Kakashi looked surprised as he opened the scroll to find in big letters 'Happy Really Early Birthday'.  
  
"Birthday?"  
  
"Yep!" Iruka hugged Kakashi around the waist burying his face into Kakashi's chest. "Happy Birthday Kakashi!"  
  
Kakashi looked at the scroll then at Iruka as his cheeks flushed. He smiled and hugged Iruka back.  
  
"I don't think I understand but this is definitely the best early birthday I have ever had." Kakashi kissed Iruka's forehead causing the boy to blush as Iruka tried to kiss him back.  
  
"It's because we don't get to celebrate it in the fall since you are always on missions." Iruka kissed Kakashi on the cheek as he jumped off the bed and grabbed Kakashi's hand. "Follow me."  
  
Kakashi obeyed as Iruka lead him through the rooms and into the kitchen where there was a small cake in the middle of the table in 16 and a half candles. Kakashi looked at the cake a little weird since it was the first time he had ever seen only half of a candle but smiled when he remembered he wasn't 17 just yet.  
  
"Okay first open your gift and then we can have some cake!" Iruka smiled as he made Kakashi sit down and he sat down in front of him.  
  
Iruka handed Kakashi a big box with a blue bow on top. Kakashi smiled as he unwrapped the box but only found another smaller box inside.  
  
"Hn?" He looked at Iruka who was just smiling at him.  
  
"Keep going Kakashi!"  
  
Kakashi was able to unwrap seven different boxes before he came to a bag. He smiled when he realized the boxes were over and opened the bag to see a small box inside. Kakashi glared at Iruka before sighing. This present was taking forever to find.  
  
"C'mon open it!" Iruka pushed all the other boxes aside as Kakashi opened the small box to reveal a small silver necklace of a dolphin.  
  
"Wow." Kakashi stared at the beautiful carving along the silver and the blue stone that was located on the dolphin. He remembered seeing this in the store.  
  
"Remember you took me to that new jewelry store just to see this necklace. You kept talking about how beautiful is was I couldn't not buy it for you." Iruka smiled. "I like to think I am the reason you like dolphins sometimes."  
  
(For those who don't know Iruka = Dolphin in Japanese)  
  
Kakashi put the necklace on before he kissed Iruka. Iruka blushed as Kakashi started to nibble at his bottom lip but gently pushed Kakashi away and brought him back to the table.  
  
"We still have cake to do!"  
  
It wasn't long before the cake was gone and Iruka was cleaning up all the paper that was thrown everywhere. Kakashi smiled as he fiddled with his new necklace.  
  
Iruka felt two arms wrap around his chest as Kakashi rest his head on the younger teen's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Iruka turned around and kissed Kakashi.  
  
"Thank you Iruka-koi." Kakashi whispered in Iruka's ear as they both went to their rooms. Iruka paused at his door before he turned and went into Kakashi's room.  
  
Kakashi looked up at the teen as Iruka crawled next him and lied down near the wall. Kakashi laid down next to him wrapping one arm around the boy before he started playing with Iruka's hair. Iruka curled into Kakashi's warmth before closing his eyes welcoming any sleep.  
  
Kakashi kissed Iruka on the forehead before he placed his head down and got comfortable. He was still really tired but he had never been so happy in his life that he could remember at this moment. Kakashi smiled at the sleeping Iruka in his arms as he closed his eyes for sleep.  
  
Unknown to Iruka this was the first birthday present he had received in two years.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
*bows down to the readers* PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I promised to update in two weeks and it took me four! And then this chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be.....then I had exams for school! But the worst part was right when I got back from Texas I had WRITERS BLOCK! *cringes* Why me?  
  
Well to make it up to you guys I am going to give you a preview for the next chapter. I don't think I will do this every chapter but since it has taken me forever to update I think you deserve it! *smiles*  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Who is that?" Hitomi whispered under her breath as two teenagers walked into the office.  
  
"Hn? That's just Kakashi and Iruka; I guess they are here to see if they have any missions. Now about where you will be staying for the time being..." The Hokage watched Hitomi walk over to Iruka with a smile on her face.  
  
"There isn't any food in the house so I thought we could go out...." Iruka stopped as the girl stood in front of him. "Hello?"  
  
"HI! My name is Hitomi, what's your name good looking?" Hitomi grabbed his hand and shook as she smiled.  
  
Iruka just stared at her while a blush crept on his cheeks. Who is this girl?  
  
"I...I am Iruka." Iruka looked up at Kakashi who just seemed to be amused by the girl.  
  
"Hitomi...I need you to come back here so we can plan your stay at Konoha." The Hokage sighed as he continued to smoke his pipe.  
  
"Can I have a body guard?" Hitomi ran to the Hokage grabbing Iruka dragging him with her.  
  
"Hn?" The Hokage looked up as he realized what she was about to say next.  
  
"I can pay for it! I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem since you have so many shinobi here! Can I have a bodyguard! Can I have Iruka?"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Thank you for reading! Please R&R!! 


	9. Iruka's new mission

I would hope by now that you guys get the point that I DO NOT own Naruto nor have anything to do with it's creation. But just in case you still don't get it read the disclaimer in all the previous chapters!!  
  
'Tis the Season' will not be changed at least not till I end this story.  
  
I wrote this chapter while my family was watching the Harry Potter movie 'Chamber of Secrets' something like that.....well lets just say that I have different tastes in movies so I wrote this chapter instead!  
  
Replies to all my reviews are at the end of this chapter! Oh and I will say it here that this fic will remain PG-13 so that means no lemon! But for all those who wanted no need to worry cause if you really need it you will be able to receive it via email!  
  
Well I hope everyone is having a great day!  
  
Enjoy!!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 9: Iruka's New Mission  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
The sun scattered little rays of light across the Hidden Leaf village through the partially cloudy sky. It had been a quiet month in the shinobi village like the quiet stillness before a storm approaches. With an ongoing battle against the Hidden Cloud many of the more elite shinobi were gone leaving behind the peaceful village for the hectic war ground.  
  
Iruka stared at his reflection in the mirror. There were many ponytail holders around him as he tried once again to get his hair off his face by putting it up in a ponytail.  
  
"I HATE THIS!" Iruka threw his little ties and rubber bands to the floor before he glared at the mirror. "How am supposed to keep my hair out of my face?"  
  
Iruka ran his hands through his short hair. He was so used to having long hair that he didn't really know what else to do with it than put it up. Iruka played with his bangs as he remembered the chunin exam, his hair had grown out a bit but was still too short.  
  
"Use gel." Iruka turned around to see another chunin smirking at him.  
  
"Go away Mizuki, this is all your fault." Iruka sighed as he zipped up his vest and left the public restroom located in the Hokage's tower.  
  
"I thought I was doing you a favor.....seriously Iruka you can be so ungrateful sometimes." Mizuki turned the corner before stopping and glancing back at his friend. "And besides you used to complain about how much you looked like a girl."  
  
"Yeah but that had nothing to do with my hair! You have long hair too you stupid jerk!" Iruka spat out as he walked right by Mizuki.  
  
"No hard feelings Iruka." Mizuki smirked as he turned the other way and left.  
  
Iruka sighed as his hands went through his hair for the umpteenth time that morning. Kakashi had been gone for a month and Iruka hadn't received any word about how the battles were going. The war between the Leaf and the Cloud were meant to be on the quiet side so all the battles were more like squabbles between elite shinobi. Gai had come back a week ago and told Iruka that he hadn't seen Kakashi.  
  
Iruka walked into a room with a long desk. This was where he had to submit mission reports and pick missions. Since he would normally get C rank mission being a journeyman ninja each of his missions seemed to last a week the least.  
  
"Ah Iruka! Here to get a mission?" A girl ran up and hugged him with her black hair bouncing behind her.  
  
"Hey Kurenai." Iruka mumbled as the girl squeezed him tighter.  
  
" 'Hey Kurenai' is all you say! No respect! Just because you are the same rank as me doesn't mean you can talk to me like that!" Kurenai bopped Iruka on the head, "I hate this..."  
  
Iruka looked up at her a little confused. Kurenai was never down about anything.  
  
"You okay?" Iruka didn't hide the concern in his voice. Kurenai was like an older sister to him when his parents were here and even after they died.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine. I better head off though, there aren't many missions recently but I'm sure it'll pick up after the dispute with the Cloud is over."  
  
Iruka gave Kurenai a halfhearted wave before he approached the older man with the pipe. The Hokage smiled when he saw Iruka, that boy was growing up before his eyes. He liked to think that Iruka was one of his own children sometimes.  
  
"Hokage-sama." Iruka did a bow for respect then smiled brightly as he went up to the front of the desk in front of the man.  
  
"Iruka, you look good." The man smiled as he smoked his pipe. "There aren't any missions for today, not many people wanting to leave the safety of these walls."  
  
"Yeah, oh well....maybe something will come up. So how have you been, it's been like what a few months since we last chatted?" Iruka sat down on the desk when he saw no one was around.  
  
"You know if you ever want to talk to me about anything my door is always open." The Hokage laughed. "Now get off my desk."  
  
Iruka got off like a kid who was told he couldn't have any candy before he remembered something.  
  
"Hokage-sama?"  
  
"Yes Iruka is there something you need?" The Hokage chewed on his pipe before he continued to smoke on it.  
  
"I was....have you heard anything about Kakashi's situation in the war?" Iruka hoped beyond anything that Kakashi was okay.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka but I'm not allowed to give out information like that. Even to you, what you hear is all I can tell you." Iruka nodded. "But I haven't heard anything."  
  
Iruka looked up at the Hokage and smiled. Well if he hadn't heard anything then that meant Kakashi wasn't dead, since the whereabouts of any death was the first thing the Hokage learned.  
  
"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Iruka smiled before he turned around and left.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Iruka ran down the street trying to hold in all the stuff barely falling out of its paper bag. He ran up the steps to his house and slid on the floor till every thing spilled out as the bag ripped. Iruka sighed before he opened the door to his house and pushed everything in. He had to buy groceries for two weeks since the owner of the store was leaving Konoha for a while.  
  
Iruka put up all the food before he heard a knock on his door.  
  
"Hello?" Iruka opened the door to see an envelope on the ground. "Odd."  
  
Iruka picked up the envelope before he looked around on the street to see a few children just getting out of school. He looked at it again before he went into his house and shut the door.  
  
The envelope contained a short letter not addressed to anyone but had in big letters the words 'Look behind you.'  
  
Iruka did just that to see a hand go over his mouth before he could yell anything. The intruder laughed slightly before removing his mask to reveal a silver haired jounin. Iruka's eyes got big as he tried to smile but the hand still covered his mouth.  
  
"Before you say anything Iruka, I wanted to tell you I'm glad I met you." Kakashi smiled as he let go of Iruka face and watched Iruka stare at him kind of confused.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Iruka stared at Kakashi for a second before the jounin brushed their lips together.  
  
"It means that I have had a crappy month and am glad to be able to come home to someone." Iruka blushed before he saw how dirty Kakashi's cloths were.  
  
"Take a shower and I will make you something to eat okay!" Iruka smiled as he pushed Kakashi off him causing the jounin to frown but before Kakashi could say anything Iruka was already in the kitchen grabbing something to cook.  
  
After Iruka had made some food for Kakashi he had to go leave for a rendezvous with a friend. He told Kakashi to meet him at the mission room later. Iruka was just about to leave when he went back into the kitchen to see Kakashi eating some more food.  
  
"Kakashi! Don't eat all of our food, the grocery store is closed while the owner is gone for two weeks!" Iruka opened the cabinets to see half the food he had bought was gone.  
  
"Sorry Iruka I haven't had real food in a long time." Kakashi put one of his hands behind his head as Iruka glared at him.  
  
"You haven't even been here for a whole day and you ate enough food for a week! Kakashi you nee........" Before Iruka could say anything else Kakashi had pushed him against the cabinet and kissed him.  
  
"I will take you out to eat then....." Kakashi whispered as the chunin blushed before he kissed Iruka again slipping his had under Iruka's shirt.  
  
"Kaka-AHH-shi yo-U c-AHH-n't," Iruka pushed Kakashi off of him and pulled down his shirt trying to get the blood to leave his cheeks. "You can't just act irresponsible then kiss me to make me forgive you Kakashi."  
  
Kakashi sighed as Iruka grabbed his stuff and headed out the door. "Remember meet me at the mission room near Hokage's tower in an hour."  
  
"See you then....." Kakashi pouted as Iruka shut the door. "And I don't act irresponsible, I just don't think about things when it comes to food."  
  
Kakashi turned around to the empty and smiled.  
  
/ While the mouse is away the cat will play....or something like that. /  
  
And with that thought Kakashi jumped from where he was and went into his room. He hadn't seen his boyfriend in a month and planned to make his stay for this short time before he was sent out again one that Iruka could have dreams about.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"My name is Sagara Hitomi." A small teenage girl bowed in front of the Hokage as a smirk crept on her lips.  
  
Hitomi had short black hair the curled against her cheeks. Her tan skin brought out her pale green eyes and the mischievous glint that was often found in them. She wore a black dress with a golden sash around the waist that contained strange symbols all over it. She wore tons of jewelry on her arms and on her ears; she even had a stone located on her forehead.  
  
She was 15 years old and an heiress to a great fortune in the Hidden Waterfall village. The Waterfall wasn't as big as the more predominant Leaf or Cloud but it was shinobi village and contained one of the richest families in the land.  
  
"I am glad to see you had a safe trip to our village Sagara-san." The Hokage did a small bow to the heiress before he continued. "What may I ask brings you to our village?"  
  
"Call me Hitomi please and I had to leave the safety of the Hidden Waterfall for a little while but its nothing to worry about because I took my money with me." Hitomi smiled as the Hokage frowned.  
  
"Money doesn't matter if a life is in danger......"  
  
"No need to worry Hokage-sama! Neither my life nor the lives of your villagers are in danger!" She quickly interrupted him. "Just family issues."  
  
"Well only speak what you want me to know, now how long do you plan on staying with us?"  
  
"As long as my vacation here can last, and with that I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?" The jewel on her forehead seemed to change into a red color.  
  
"Yes?" The Hokage watched her small timid smirk become a huge smile.  
  
"Where are all the hot guys here? Do you know where the guys my age hang out? Do you know anyone I could have fun with? Please tell me there are tons of guys here! Do you have a singles bar? Do shinobi know how to have 'fun' or is everything a job? But most importantly I need to know where all the cuties hangout, especially the single ones!" Hitomi's personality seemed to switch from polite heiress to typical hyper teen girl.  
  
The Hokage sighed as she continued to ramble on about how there weren't any cute guys in the Waterfall village and how she had seen some of the Leaf's shinobi. This was the last thing he needed to worry about with a war going on but her family was paying a great amount of money to the Leaf so she could stay there for a while.  
  
"Who is that?" Hitomi whispered under her breath as two teenagers walked into the office.  
  
The Hokage looked up from his desk to see a silver haired jounin and a young teen with a scar across his face.  
  
"Hn? That's just Kakashi and Iruka; I guess they are here to see if they have any missions. Now about where you will be staying for the time being..." The Hokage watched Hitomi walk over to Iruka with a smile on her face.  
  
"There isn't a lot food in the house so I thought we could go out...." Iruka stopped as the girl stood in front of him. "Hello?"  
  
"HI! My name is Hitomi, what's your name good looking?" Hitomi grabbed his hand and shook as she smiled.  
  
Iruka just stared at her while a blush crept on his cheeks.  
  
/ Who is this girl? /  
  
"I...I am Iruka." Iruka looked up at Kakashi who just seemed to be amused by the girl.  
  
"Hitomi...I need you to come back here so we can plan your stay at Konoha." The Hokage sighed as he continued to smoke his pipe.  
  
"Can I have a body guard?" Hitomi ran to the Hokage grabbing Iruka dragging him with her.  
  
"Hn?" The Hokage looked up as he realized what she was about to say next.  
  
"I can pay for it! I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem since you have so many shinobi here! Can I have a bodyguard! Can I have Iruka?"  
  
Iruka gave the Hokage a panicked look before he looked at Kakashi for help. The girl finally let go of his hand and went through her bag she was carrying.  
  
"Hitomi, Iruka isn't that kind of bodyguard. You aren't in any danger so all you really need is a tour guide." The Hokage massaged his temples when he heard Hitomi squeal in excitement as she placed money on the table.  
  
"Fine then can I buy Iruka to be my tour guide while I'm here?" She looked over to where Iruka used to be to find him standing behind the taller silver haired shinobi.  
  
"Who are you?" Hitomi glared at Kakashi as he glared his one eye at her.  
  
"I am Hatake Kakashi, me and Iruka are together so if you don't mind.....don't touch." Kakashi put one of his arms in front of Iruka in a kind of defensive manner while Iruka blushed.  
  
/ I can't believe Kakashi just said that! /  
  
Iruka looked around the room to see it was fairly empty. He thought he was going to faint.  
  
"You are together?" Hitomi raised an eyebrow before she smiled. "Oh I don't plan to take your friend away Mr. Shinobi Cyclops Dude!" Her voice was filled with a childish sarcasm as her eyes glinted another mischievous glare.  
  
"Kakashi! You need to apologize for being rude to one of my guest." The Hokage stood up form his seat as Kakashi sighed.  
  
"Excuse me for being impolite." Kakashi did a small bow and moved his arm form in front of Iruka.  
  
"You are excused my masked man!" Hitomi giggled before she looked back over at the Hokage. "Now can I hire Iruka for the guide job? I believe that is enough money for the first week at least!"  
  
The Hokage looked down at the money the teenage girl had sat down in front of him and sure enough, he would have hired Iruka to be a tour guide for three months on this salary.  
  
"We will let Iruka decide after all it isn't in his job description." The Hokage smiled at the weight he had just lifted off himself.  
  
Iruka looked at the Hokage then at the girl who was blushing at him then at Kakashi who seemed to be annoyed by something then at the money. He knew he wouldn't have any major missions for a while....the girl seemed harmless.....Kakashi probably wouldn't mind that much......and he really need the money. Iruka sighed.  
  
"I will be Hitomi-san's tour guide for her stay in Konoha." Iruka did a small bow as the Hokage smirked.  
  
"Very well." The Hokage looked over at Hitomi. "Will you please pardon us for a second I need to talk to these two before we continue discussing your stay here."  
  
Hitomi grinned wickedly as she bowed and then hugged Iruka before leaving the room. As soon as she was out of sight Kakashi glared at the Hokage then looked at Iruka.  
  
"You didn't have to take the job Iruka." Kakashi didn't like having people around who would possibly take up Iruka's time. It was not too long ago when Seiko had finally left now it was this girl Hitomi.  
  
"Sorry Kakashi! But since missions have been on the low side I was afraid we wouldn't make rent this month so the money would help!" Iruka grabbed Kakashi's hand.  
  
"Excuse me for interrupting you two but Kakashi I have a mission for you." The Hokage got both their attention. "I didn't bring you out of the war for no reason, I need you expertise for this one."  
  
Kakashi nodded as he squeezed Iruka's hand before letting go. The only field he was good at was killing, something he would rather spend time with Iruka than do but it was his job.  
  
"Now Iruka, since you took Hitomi's job I will consider you her babysitter for now. She is older than you so be careful and if you find out anything you think I should know please tell me. I think there is something more about her staying here." The Hokage waited for Iruka to nod before he continued.  
  
"Now will you please get her so we can work out the rest of her where about plans."  
  
Iruka retrieved Hitomi who was more than glad to hang on his arm as they walked back to the Hokage. When they made it back to the desk the Hokage had already given Kakashi a short debriefing and a scroll about the mission he was going to be on.  
  
"Iruka I will see you when you get home tonight okay." Kakashi turned and left the room before Iruka could say anything about dinner.  
  
"Now about where you will be staying...." The Hokage looked at Hitomi. "This isn't really a tourist place as I am sure you can tell but we do have hotels, but if that is unfitting then you can stay in one of the rooms we reserve for diplomats."  
  
"I don't know...." Hitomi looked at Iruka before blushing and looking back at the Hokage. "I wish I could have had a day to tour the Hidden Leaf before I had to choose one of these places. I mean it would help me decide which place is more convenient."  
  
The Hokage sighed before an ANBU appeared beside him and whispered something to him. He nodded as the ANBU disappeared and he stood up.  
  
"If you two don't mind I will be leaving for a short time. I will be back in a moment and expect to have an answer to where you plan to be staying Hitomi." With that the Hokage left in a puff of smoke leaving Iruka alone with Hitomi.  
  
"Soooo! Iruka, where do you live?" She smiled as she pulled Iruka over to a seat and sat next to him.  
  
"I live on this side of the village." Iruka pointed to a small spot on the map she was holding. "It's not too close to the business district and not too far from civilization."  
  
"Really! Wow I bet your parents must be so happy to have such a good- looking ninja for a son. You look like the smart type too, I bet you are really talented." Hitomi scooted closer to Iruka as he scooted away from her.  
  
"I'm sorry but my parents died before I graduated from the ninja academy."  
  
"Why are you apologizing? I am sorry I should think about things before I say them." Hitomi did a small bow while Iruka blushed softly at her actions. It wasn't everyday an heiress apologized to him.  
  
"No it's fine I'm not lonely I live with Kakashi and Hokage is always there for me. I have many precious people in my life." Iruka smiled as he thought about all of his friends and Kakashi.  
  
"Kakashi.....Kakashi.....Kakashi.....Oh that's the boy with the mask and one eye from earlier." Hitomi looked at the clock then at Iruka. "I bet it is nice living with someone around your age. I'm always alone since my parents travel constantly."  
  
Iruka had a sudden pain of guilt for some reason. It wasn't his fault she was alone but he had a feeling he should be able to do something. No one should have to be lonely in their lives; the world was too cold for that.  
  
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Have you decided Hitomi?" The Hokage appeared behind his desk before sitting down again.  
  
"Yes I think I will stay in one of the..." Hitomi was suddenly interrupted when Iruka stood up.  
  
"She can stay with me and Kakashi." Iruka smiled. That way he would get to spend time with Kakashi and Hitomi wouldn't be alone, two birds with one stone.  
  
"Iruka are you sure?" Hitomi looked at him a little confused.  
  
"Yeah there is plenty of room for one more person. I'm sure Kakashi won't mind.....is it okay Hokage-sama?" Iruka looked at the older man.  
  
"Well if Hitomi wants to stay there then it is fine." The Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth.  
  
"Yeah that would be fun!" Hitomi smiled as she grabbed her bag and stood up.  
  
"The it is settled. As of now it is late and you two should be heading home, Iruka give her a quick tour tomorrow then return to my office okay." The Hokage waited for Iruka to nod before he grabbed his papers and headed out.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Kakashi sunk into the sofa in the living room.  
  
/ First Iruka becomes her tour guide then what's next? This is my last night here for a week and even after that if we are still warring against the Cloud then I might not be here for another two or three months before I get sent back to have a change of atmosphere. /  
  
Kakashi sighed as he watched the clock. He was 17 now and had only arrived this morning from the war. Usually the teams would take breaks every couple of months so there wouldn't be any major psychological breakdowns during and after the war but Kakashi was called off early for this new mission.  
  
/ Assassination. /  
  
Kakashi heard the door open and smiled. Iruka was back meaning he could have a little fun with the 14-year-old boy.  
  
"Kakashi I'm back and I need to tell you something!" Iruka called out before he saw Kakashi in the living room and walked up to him.  
  
"What do you need to tell me?" Kakashi grinned until Iruka lifted up Kakashi's facemask and gave him the 'please-don't-hate-me' look.  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"You see..."  
  
"Hey Iruka it was getting cold out there so I just let myself in! Hope you don't mind....Oh hey there, Kakashi was it?" Hitomi smiled as Kakashi looked at her then glared at Iruka.  
  
"I needed to tell you she is going to be staying here while she is in Konoha." Iruka smiled sheepishly. "I hope it's not a problem."  
  
Kakashi looked back at Hitomi who was admiring pictures on one of the tables before she headed off to explore the house. Kakashi grabbed Iruka and pulled the chunin close so that he would barely have to whisper.  
  
"Why is she here?"  
  
"I didn't want her to be alone since she doesn't know anyone here." Iruka whispered back.  
  
"We don't even know her!"  
  
"But I don't see any harm in it Kakashi! I just don't like to see people get lonely when I can stop some of that." Iruka put his arms around Kakashi's neck hugging the jounin. "Please."  
  
Kakashi sighed before he got off from his seat. He couldn't really argue with Iruka since it was technically the chunin's house, but that didn't mean he had to feel good about it either. He looked at Iruka before hugging the chunin again and walking to his room when it hit him.  
  
"Where will she be sleeping?" Kakashi turned around to see Iruka bite his lower lip to show he was thinking about it.  
  
"She can sleep in my room and I can sleep with you?" Iruka looked at Kakashi questionably and smiled when Kakashi nodded.  
  
Iruka was about to say something else when they heard and crash on the ground. Kakashi and Iruka were in Iruka's room in no time to find Hitomi trying to pick up a mess of broken glass around a picture frame.  
  
"Oh I am so sorry Iruka-kun! I am so clumsy!" Hitomi picked up all the glass as Iruka smiled and took the mess away from her.  
  
He looked at the picture to see it was the one of the day he had met Kakashi. He had his hair down and was wearing his mom's favorite kimono since it was her birthday. That day had been a hectic day for such a young child but Iruka remembered it like yesterday.  
  
"Who is that?" Iruka looked up to see Hitomi pointing to the picture he was holding.  
  
"These are my parents." Iruka smiled softly. "And that's me."  
  
"Doesn't he look like a little girl?" Kakashi added trying to add a joke in before the topic got all depressing. Hitomi glared at him before she apologized to Iruka once more.  
  
"Hitomi you will be staying in this room." Iruka said as he grabbed some cloths. "I hope you don't mind but it's the cleanest one in the house."  
  
She laughed and nodded. Iruka blushed a bit when he thought about a girl sleeping on his bed but quickly shook it off and left the room telling her goodnight. It was the first time he had ever had a girl over besides Kurenai, Suzume didn't really like Kakashi, and all the other girls weren't really good enough of friends.  
  
Kakashi waited for Iruka to hop on the bed before he turned off the lights and pulled the chunin close to him. He wanted to keep Iruka with him as long as he could.  
  
Iruka slid his fingers along Kakashi's arms receiving light shivers from the older teen before he traced Kakashi's face. Iruka let his thumb touch Kakashi's lips before he pulled himself up to kiss the jounin and the relaxed on the pillow.  
  
Kakashi rolled over so that he was over Iruka and kissed the chunin softly before pressing his body against the younger teens. Kakashi let his hand gently caress Iruka's sides before he slipped under the dark haired boy's shirt and kissed him again.  
  
Iruka squirmed a bit at the cold hands touching his warm skin as he grasped Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi slowly moved his kisses off of Iruka's lips to his ear where he played with it. Iruka's eyes widened as he felt Kakashi's tongue on his ear and tried not to whimper as Kakashi nibbled at the earlobe.  
  
After getting all the reactions he wanted from the ear Kakashi moved to Iruka's neck where he left a bruise he knew would be there for a while. He hope it would be there for the whole week he was gone so that he could put another one there when he got back.  
  
Kakashi was about to take off Iruka's shirt when Iruka pulled his shirt down and smiled at the jounin. Kakashi pouted as Iruka tried not to laugh so he kissed the jounin this time wetting the bottom lip asking for entrance as Kakashi allowed willingly.  
  
Kakashi kissed him harder than he had in a while but slowly moved off the chunin and settled for having Iruka in his arms for the night. If there was one thing Kakashi was regretting in gaining as he got older it was his libido and attraction to younger boys.  
  
Iruka wrapped his legs around Kakashi's and curled into his chest. Kakashi wrapped his arms around the chunin and kissed his forehead before he waited for Iruka's breath to even out. After Iruka had fallen asleep he closed his eyes for rest, he had a short mission ahead of him and need all the energy he could get...if not for the mission then for the anxiety of knowing Iruka was home alone with Hitomi.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
My twin RukaIayLomperGay has come to say some things! Her nickname I call her is K-chan in case you guys were wondering!  
  
K-chan: *gawks* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! IRUKA-KUN! She is evil!!!!! Stay away!!!!  
  
P-sama: Don't worry I just gave her the role I was going to give Seiko but I added some stuff and took stuff away.  
  
K-chan: But that doesn't make any sense since you never told us what role you were going to give Seiko!  
  
P-sama: Okay then what is your problem?  
  
K-chan: I don't want that Hitomi touching my Iruka-kun!  
  
P-sama: Well it's not up to you now is it?  
  
K-chan: Why you.........  
  
P-sama: Oh yeah just so everyone knows my sister might not be updating her stories anytime soon since she is drawing a manga for the tokyopop contest.  
  
K-chan: Wish me luck!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'Replies '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
SquirrelOfShadows: I hope I didn't make you wait too long! The rest should start coming out since I am getting back to the hang of things!!  
  
Muchacha: Thank you for the hug!! *hugs back* lol! Well how Iruka decides to become a teacher is more evident in like chapter 11 I think it will be.....WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY PLANNED THAT FAR AHEAD!! My last story was only 8 chapters so this is getting really exciting for me!!  
  
And to all those who answered my questions thank you once again! I could never find the chipmunk movie and my twin hasn't been harassing anyone so all seems to be well in the world I guess. Iruka will not have a secret identity I figured that was too cliché and something that I didn't want this story to have. The rest will become obvious in the near future so keep reading!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'***'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`' `'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Please Review!! 


	10. Truth or Dare?

Yeah I still don't own Naruto but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to get a piece!  
  
Thank you for all your reviews! Replies will be after this chapter and I hope you are still enjoying this story!  
  
I have been iced in for the past two days so school has been canceled which is starting to get on my nerves because I know they are going to make us make it up.......if possible even steal our spring break! Stupid CMS schools.....vicious blood sucking teachers.....well I feel better lol!  
  
Hope your having better weather than we are!  
  
ENJOY!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Chapter 10: Truth or Dare?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"So where did Kakashi-san go this morning?" Hitomi finished putting on her golden wrap around her dress and went out the door Iruka was holding open for her.  
  
"He had a mission, but he will be back soon." Iruka blushed lightly when he thought of Kakashi and sighed.  
  
Hitomi watched Iruka from the corner of her eye, as he started playing with his hair and frowning at it. The morning sun called all the villagers from their dreams and the street they were walking on slowly came back to life as it had been yesterday.  
  
"So why did you cut your hair?"  
  
"Huh?" Iruka raised an eyebrow over at Hitomi as she smiled.  
  
"I was looking at your pictures you had scattered through out your house and all of them had you with long hair."  
  
Iruka remembered Hitomi giving herself a tour while Iruka gave Kakashi a good bye. He looked at her and smiled before he looked at the rising sun and squinted his eyes.  
  
"I guess you can say I didn't get much of an option when it was cut." Iruka laughed a little as Hitomi just looked at him weird and then gave up.  
  
"So what brings you here Hitomi-chan?" Iruka sat down on a park bench that they were walking by and waited for her to join him. He remembered the Hokage having suspicions about her stay here.  
  
"Oh.....um I......I guess there is no harm in telling you." Hitomi sat down in a manner that would be considered rude by just flopping in the bench startling Iruka a bit.  
  
"Telling me what?" Iruka began to think maybe the Hokage was right but was that good or bad?  
  
"The real reason I'm here is because when I return to my village I will be forced to marry some jerk from my village." She sighed. "I'm only 15! I don't want to get married even if the guy is drop dead gorgeous!"  
  
Iruka tried to think of something to say but then just sighed and waited to see if she was going to say anything else. Well at least now he knew she wasn't a threat.  
  
"He's 21, isn't that illegal? Well anyway despite all the facts I was told I would have to marry him when I return unless, get this, I find my true love! Isn't that so cliché? I hate my parents!" Hitomi gave out a small laughter. "And to make matters worse I might be killed if I leave this village!"  
  
"What? Why?" That information caught Iruka off guard.  
  
"Oh it isn't thing serious it just turned out that at the last village I visited they were celebrated some holiday where your future can be told and all that good stuff........and well I apparently pissed off the heathen gods to the point where my fortune is that I will die before I return home."  
  
"Oh that's it? I thought you were going to say someone was after your life, don't worry about superstitions like that Hitomi-chan they never come true." Iruka laughed as Hitomi glared at him.  
  
"Just so you know I am very superstitious! I believe all that stuff." Iruka smiled apologetically.  
  
Iruka and Hitomi walked around all of Konoha till it was about dinnertime and Iruka remembered he was supposed to see the Hokage after he gave Hitomi a tour. He left Hitomi in the waiting room as he climbed up the stair of Hokage tower to get to the Hokage's office. Once he made it to the two big doors he was happy to see the Hokage in a better mood.  
  
"You seem to be happy Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled as he approached the man with a pipe.  
  
"Happy maybe not happy but in a better atmosphere yes. I have two things to be happy about Iruka-kun how many things do you have?" The Hokage smiled as he took a seat behind his desk.  
  
Iruka smiled and pulled out his fingers to start counting even if he was just joking around.  
  
"I have three things to be happy about Hokage-sama! I have Kakashi and I have good health and my mission is going as easy as pie so far!" Iruka sat down in a chair in front of the Hokage as the old man nodded. "What about you?"  
  
"I just found out my son is getting married and the war with the Cloud is over." Iruka's face brightened in shock as he smiled even bigger. "They are going to send a representative over here next week."  
  
"That's great! I can't believe your son is getting married! And to top that off the war is over! That means Kakashi won't have to go back out!" Iruka gave the Hokage a confused look, as the Hokage seemed to be a little disturbed for a second. "Something wrong?"  
  
"Don't worry Iruka-kun just remember that since we will be signing a treaty I will busy, I have to make sure we aren't taken advantage of." The Hokage waited for Iruka to nod and then continued. "Now about you and Kakashi........you haven't done anything yet have you?"  
  
Iruka blushed as he shook his head. He couldn't believe the Hokage just asked him something so personal but noticed the Hokage smile a bit and nod.  
  
"I just don't want you two do anything you might regret Iruka, I mean your young so don't push things forward too quickly." Iruka sighed and nodded he always got some form of the 'talk' whenever he visited the Hokage.  
  
"Oh Hitomi is downstairs I guess I should head back." Iruka got up as the Hokage watched him.  
  
"About her have you found anything to doubt her visit here?"  
  
"Well she has a different reason for being here than just a vacation but other than that; the only thing she could harm with her visit is if the representative from the Cloud turns out to be her true love." Iruka laughed as he received a confused glance form the Hokage.  
  
"Very well see you later." With a nod Iruka was gone and the Hokage went back to his paperwork that had piled up on his desk.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"So what about you Iruka?" Hitomi smiled with a mischievous glint before she entered a small coffee shop.  
  
"What about what?" Iruka looked over at her with a smile.  
  
"I keep talking about myself.....so I was wondering about you. What's your life story?" She laughed a little with a small blush on her cheeks as they got their orders.  
  
Iruka had ordered a frozen coffee drink with a lot of whip cream on it. Iruka hated the taste of coffee but with all this stuff added to it, it was quite nice. Hitomi had ordered a cappuccino and chose that they sat by the window since it was a beautiful day.  
  
"My life story huh? I dunno.......my life isn't that interesting." Iruka smiled timidly at her as she grinned.  
  
"Oh I get it! Your shy, that's so CUTE!" She pinched one of Iruka's cheeks before she went back to her coffee. "C'mon I bet you have tons of stories about being a ninja....like how did you get that scar across your face?"  
  
"Oh this." Iruka's hand traced the scar. "I got this....uh....um I got it when...."  
  
"You can tell me Iruka-kun." She smiled.  
  
"I got it the day my parents died." Iruka said softly watching the smile on her face disappear.  
  
"I'm sorry maybe I shouldn't pry." She looked at the table in front of her.  
  
"No it's fine, I just..." Then Iruka had an idea. "Hitomi can I take you somewhere?"  
  
She looked at Iruka for a second then smiled with a nod. They got their drinks to go and then left the coffee shop heading over to the area near the forest. He hadn't been there in a long time; it would be nice to see it again for a different reason.  
  
They passed by three big stumps in the ground till they came up to a small monument.  
  
"What is this?" She looked at Iruka before she went to the huge stone.  
  
"This is where all the shinobi's who die honorably out on the job names go. It's a memorial for all of them." Iruka traced down the lines of all the names that had been added since he had last saw this. It wasn't that many and that made him smile a bit.  
  
"I used to come here and cry after my parents died." Iruka sighed remembering when he would run from all the people in the town and come out here, shortly after the Hokage found him and that's when their little sessions began.  
  
"How long ago was it? When your parents died I mean." She tried to sound sympathetic but Iruka could tell she was curious.  
  
"Three years ago." Iruka looked over at her.  
  
"I...."  
  
"Don't worry about it I am as okay with it as I'll ever be." Iruka smiled at her as she smiled back.  
  
"My life doesn't even compare to yours Iruka-kun, here I have been complaining about how my life is soooo bad when you lost your parents. You must think I am a horrible person." She looked down at the ground.  
  
"You shouldn't feel bad, I love my life, and you haven't complained about stuff that I wouldn't complain about so I think we are good." Iruka smiled as she smiled and gave him a hug.  
  
"Wow you are so cool Iruka-kun!" Iruka blushed as she let go. "So where do you want to go next?"  
  
"Me? I think I should ask you since you're the visitor." Iruka laughed. "Anyways I took you to most of the places I know about."  
  
"Okay then lets go over there." Hitomi pointed over to the Hokage monument mountain. "I bet the view is great from up there."  
  
"Sure lets go." Iruka started walking as Hitomi latched to his arm. "Hitomi......"  
  
"Yes Iruka-kun?" She smiled at him grabbing his arm even tighter.  
  
"Could you please let go of my arm.....I am.....sorry but I already have....." Iruka didn't know how to place Kakashi.  
  
Should he call Kakashi his boyfriend? Should he just tell her he was taken? Or was she just being nice and hanging on people was just a sign of friendship from her country?  
  
"Oh I get it..." Iruka looked at her as she let go of his arm. "You don't like me..."  
  
"No! That's not what I was trying to say!" Iruka tried to put the words together but felt Hitomi latch on to him again.  
  
"Yay! I'm so happy you like me too Iruka-kun!"  
  
"No Hitomi that's not what I..."  
  
"So you don't like me?"  
  
"No I like you but I....."  
  
"Then what's the problem?"  
  
Iruka stared at Hitomi for a second. How could he say this without hurting anyone's feelings and causing an unnecessary scene?  
  
"Is it because I'm older than you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is cause you don't like how I look?"  
  
"No I think your very pretty but...."  
  
"But what Iruka-kun you don't make any sense!"  
  
"Hitomi I already...."  
  
"Hey Iruka!" Iruka turn around to see an older teen in green run up to him. "On a date are we?" He smirked at Iruka.  
  
"No Gai this isn't a date." Iruka rolled his eyes at Gai; he of all people was the first to find out about Iruka and Kakashi's relationship when Kakashi molested Iruka in front of him. Iruka still haven't forgiven Kakashi for that...  
  
Iruka looked over at Hitomi who was either mortified of shocked beyond belief at the sight of Gai. She was just staring at him, quite rudely for an heiress Iruka might add. Gai looked over at her and blushed.  
  
"H...hi, I...I...I'm G...Gai." He smiled as he held out his hand.  
  
"I'm Hitomi." She smiled at him before she looked at Iruka, then at Gai with a smirk. "Oh Gai is it? I was wondering if you could help me out?"  
  
She batted her eyes at him as he blushed and nodded at her.  
  
"You see my friend Iruka here is a little shy so he has been having trouble in telling me why he doesn't want to go out with me." Gai nodded and looked at Iruka.  
  
"Well that's easy! The reason Iruka isn't interested in you like that is because he is already taken." Hitomi looked at Iruka as he nodded to show Gai was right. "Yeah and I don't think Kakashi would appreciate knowing that you are trying to go out with Iruka."  
  
"Why would Kakashi care?" Hitomi laughed as she looked at Iruka then at Gai.  
  
"Because Iruka is Kakashi's boyfriend." Gai stated out fatly as Iruka just stared at him. Was he this point blank with everything! Iruka was surprised no one else has found out about their relationship!  
  
"What?" Hitomi looked at Iruka who was now blushing. "Iruka your...your..."  
  
"Gay. Yep and Kakashi is too if you haven't caught on yet." Gai smiled as Hitomi frowned and looked at the ground.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Hitomi I uh..." Iruka tried to say something before she busted out on laughter.  
  
"Oh my gosh! You have no idea how relieved I am that you are gay! I thought I was losing my touch!" She laughed before she turned to Gai. "And are you taken?"  
  
Gai blushed as he shook his head then looked at Iruka who was trying to decide whether what just happened was good or bad.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"Hey Kakashi how is the mission going?" A light haired guy with a toothpick in his mouth smirked as Kakashi entered the room they were currently occupying.  
  
"Hey Gemma." Kakashi sighed as he sat down in a chair. "The subject will be on his way tomorrow. I suggest we complete the mission tonight when he is at his house since that is when his security is a low."  
  
Gemma just nodded before sighing.  
  
"So who gets to take him out?"  
  
"Whoever has the best chance of completing without failure." Kakashi said in a drone voice before he got up and picked up what little belongings he had and put them in his bag. "Our mission is top priority, then we can play games."  
  
"Your not that much fun for being 17." Gemma joked before he got up and collected his stuff. "Is something brothering you? You seem really set on completing this mission as soon as you can."  
  
"No I'm good." Kakashi curved his only visible eye while his thoughts went mad.  
  
It's not that Kakashi doubted Iruka or anything but Kakashi just felt like something was up and that bothered him. Maybe that Hitomi girl posed more of a threat than he thought; Iruka was a 14-year-old boy after all....  
  
But he was a 14-year-old boy that was currently in a relationship and Iruka wasn't the type to goof off with other people while his boyfriend was gone. Or maybe Kakashi was just starting to realize how possessive he was being; Iruka was a big boy, and a chunin at that!  
  
/ But what if something does happen with Hitomi I mean Iruka never really had a relationship with a girl..... /  
  
"Kakashi?" Gemma snapped his fingers bringing Kakashi back to reality. "You can't just space out like that remember we're professionals."  
  
Kakashi just nodded before they looked at the clock and set off.  
  
It was a simple two-man mission. Find out everything you need to know about the subject, follow, and keep records. Find out where and when they would be somewhere then take them out.  
  
This subject was a rich man who had slaughtered his family in the mountain country. Usually the Leaf would let other shinobi handle their own problems but this man had started killing business partners' in the fire country so decided to take care of it as soon as they could.  
  
Gemma was Kakashi partner. They were advice to have two people on this mission just in case. Apparently the man would change his schedule randomly as if to throw them off guard but Gemma had caught the pattern of changes after two days of tracking and with all the background information they received.  
  
"Target is in sight." Kakashi held the earpiece tighter so he could hear Gemma better. "The guards are located on the east entrance and there are three located in his only path of escape. What do you see?"  
  
"It seems the west side was left unguarded for a reason....there is about five possible threats if we take that way and other than that he went in the room by himself so we might be able to get in and out undetected without having to fight too many people." Kakashi spoke softly into my headset waiting for a reply.  
  
It wasn't long before Kakashi got the reply he needed and began. Kakashi was able to go in through the east entrance without being detected and met Gemma in a corridor two halls from where their target was.  
  
"I am going to go the escape exit you go through the front." Gemma whispered as Kakashi nodded.  
  
He wasn't the leader or anything, its just a good thing to know when someone has better information than the other to fall back on and Gemma had studied the blue print of this house as soon as he was signed in on the clock.  
  
They separated; Kakashi waited till Gemma was gone with no problems then was able to sneak up on the two guards in front of the main entrance. Kakashi appeared behind them startling the smaller one but they both fell unconscious before the bigger one noticed.  
  
They were going to wake up with a headache.  
  
Kakashi opened the door slowly knowing that it would just lead him to the secretary's desk room. To his luck the next door wasn't guarded and the door was already opened. Kakashi hid myself in the shadows as he came into the room to see two bodyguards staring out the windows like hawks.  
  
The target was his desk grabbing papers and bills frantically trying to shove them into a briefcase. Kakashi smiled under my mask as he noticed he had gotten here undetected.  
  
The next thing to do would be to render the bodyguards unconscious so that they didn't pose a possible threat but Kakashi had no idea where Gemma was so he didn't know if he should go ahead and take care of the bodyguards or if he should take the target and let Gemma be his back up.  
  
"Koji! Tore! I need your help for a second." The target yelled at the two bodyguards who just grunted and left their posts.  
  
Kakashi sighed in his head as he pulled out two kunai. He would have to get them down before he would be able to get the target.  
  
Kakashi threw the kunai out of the shadows not giving off his location and sending the smaller of the bodyguards to the ground while the other was able to dodge in the nick of time. Kakashi glared as the smaller one down but the bigger glared around the room.  
  
The target looked like he was about to have a heart attack before the bigger growled and turned to him.  
  
"We need to leave now!" He scowled at the target.  
  
"I still don't have all my money! We aren't leaving until I do unless you don't want to get paid." The target yelled back making the bodyguard tense.  
  
Kakashi appeared right behind the bodyguard and hit him with the bunt end of the kunai only to see his body turn into dust.  
  
/ A form of doppelganger but he didn't look like a ninja. /  
  
Kakashi felt him move a knife to his throat as he stabbed Kakashi in the back, only to reveal that Kakashi was a copy as well.  
  
The man growled as he glared at the target to see the target heading for the escape. As soon as the target opened the door his body went limp and he fell to the ground revealing a smug looked Gemma behind the door.  
  
The bodyguard braced himself in just enough time to let his guard down about Kakashi still being there as Kakashi knocked him out cold with a kick to the back of his head.  
  
"Took you long enough." Kakashi smirked under my mask.  
  
"Sorry I found some trouble on the way." Gemma looked at the form in front of him that was now dead. "I got the body you dispose of the evidence."  
  
And with that they had completed their mission.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
"So why are you here and not on some amazing mission, Gai-san?" Hitomi smiled sweetly at Gai as him and Iruka walked beside her on the street.  
  
"Um....well, I just got back not too long ago from a....mission, and I decided to stay in Konoha for a while since it seems all the important missions are being taken care of." Gai smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
The three walked through the village visiting places that Gai thought Hitomi would like. Iruka didn't really understand why Gai kept blushing at Hitomi but just shrugged it off.  
  
"Hey guys let's play a game!" Hitomi grinned at the two boys.  
  
"What kind of game?" Iruka looked at her and where they were. You couldn't really play a game in the middle of the street without making a scene and that was the last thing Iruka wanted.  
  
"You'll see!" Hitomi winked at him then opened the door for a restaurant. "Let's get some food to go then we can play the game at Iruka-kun's house!"  
  
"Sounds fun!" Gai did a small pose. "I love playing games!"  
  
Hitomi laughed as Iruka got some Chinese food to go. It was about dinnertime in Konoha and the streets were filled with kids who were enjoying the last half of the day in which they were free from school. It had been a clear day and as the three teenagers walked to Iruka's house your could see the sky turn orange and purple.  
  
"So what game are we playing?" Gai sat down on the floor with a case of noodles.  
  
"We are going to play truth or dare!" Hitomi blew a kiss at Gai causing the jounin to blush while Iruka broke his chopsticks so he could eat.  
  
"Oh I've played that before!" Iruka smiled. "We used to play that at the ninja academy whenever our teacher was out sick or if we just had a free day."  
  
"Alright! Since everyone has a good idea of how to play lets begin." Hitomi looked at both the boys in the small circle they had made. "Iruka-kun truth or dare?"  
  
"Me? .....oh umm....truth." Iruka swallowed the food he had in his mouth as Hitomi pressed her pointer finger on her chin as if she was thinking.  
  
"Okay, since you are Kakashi's....boyfriend, I would guess that you could answer this. What does Kakashi look like under his mask?" Hitomi smiled as Iruka blushed and Gai just rolled his eyes.  
  
"He's....he is very....Kakashi is very good looking." Iruka tried to fight down the blush on his cheeks but knew it wasn't working.  
  
Hitomi giggled at Iruka's expression. It was now Iruka's turn so he looked at the two people in front of him.  
  
"Um Gai, truth or dare?"  
  
"I choose dare!" Gai jumped up ready to complete any task Iruka had for him to do.....Iruka had no clue what he should have Gai do and looked over Hitomi to see if she could help him out.  
  
"Hitomi do you have any ideas?" Iruka noticed how Hitomi smirked and nodded. "Then you can dare Gai to do something."  
  
"Okay then Gai-san! I dare you to give me a foot massage!" Hitomi laughed as Gai looked at her with a small frown. "Just kidding! Um I dunno how about I dare you to eat all that stuff we make for you." Hitomi grabbed Iruka and ran into the kitchen.  
  
There was banana pudding that was two days old, some ramen she had just made, left over Chinese food, one of Iruka's vegetable drinks, some olives, some of Kakashi's old Halloween candy, and toothpaste from the bathroom. Iruka didn't feel good when he saw her mix all the stuff together and then he followed her into the living room where Gai awaited his doom.  
  
"Here you go!" Hitomi chirped as Gai stared at it not hinting towards disgust or backing down.  
  
Iruka closed his eyes as Gai started to eat it and waited for it to be over. Iruka had a strong stomach, he could eat almost anything as Kakashi had put it but there were some places not even he was willing to go and mixing ramen and toothpaste was one of them,  
  
"Okay my turn!" Gai looked over at Hitomi. "Truth or dare?"  
  
"Dare!"  
  
"I dare you to...." Gai blushed and looked at the ground. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a date while you're here?"  
  
Iruka looked over at Hitomi who smiled.  
  
"Of course I would like to go on a date but that doesn't count as a dare." Gai blush and smiled like he had just won the super bowel of ninja football!  
  
(hehe sorry couldn't help myself.........Go Panthers!)  
  
"Okay then I dare you to dress Iruka up." Gai smiled as Hitomi looked over at Iruka with an evil glint in her eyes.  
  
"What?" Iruka yelled as he scooted back. "Hey wait that can't count as a dare! You aren't supposed to involve other people!"  
  
After about thirty minutes of Hitomi trying to catch Iruka then getting Gai to help, Iruka found himself staring at the mirror Hitomi had put in front of him so he could see her masterpiece.  
  
Iruka was wearing some make-up around the eyes, she stole his shirt, and she put some of her jewelry on him. Iruka looked like a foreigner with his tan skin and inking on his skin. Hitomi had a lot of stuff with her that he didn't want to know why she carried it. She gave Iruka a few tattoos that would go away and put him in some of his old torn summer shorts. After about five minutes of trying to escape to the bathroom Iruka found himself in the middle of his living room with his feet tied and his hands tied above his head.  
  
"Wow Iruka you look great!" Gai laughed as Iruka blushed and glared at his 'friend'.  
  
"So cute." Hitomi teased as she poked Iruka's stomach. "Okay so I guess it's my turn! Um...since Iruka is obviously enjoying this game so much, truth or dare!"  
  
"Neither!" Iruka glared at both of them. "Now take me down before I have to resort to violence!"  
  
"Please Iruka-kun! I promise you after we finish playing I will let you change cloths and everything! Please! Just one more round!" Hitomi tried to make big eyes but Iruka just rolled his eyes at her and saw how Gai was begging too.  
  
"Fine....but I choose truth." Iruka muttered.  
  
"YAY! Okay let's see.....who was you first and last kiss and....okay answer that first and then I'll ask you the other half!" Hitomi winked at Iruka.  
  
"Doesn't that count as three different questions?" Iruka sighed before he blushed. "My first and last would have to be Kakashi....."  
  
Gai rolled his eyes and looked at the ground.  
  
"Really? Have you ever kissed anyone else?" Hitomi looked at Iruka as if he had something growing out of his head.  
  
"No." Iruka blushed even more.  
  
"Wow he must be a really good kisser!" Iruka heard Gai moan in disapproval of the subject before Hitomi continued.  
  
"Haven't you ever kissed a girl?"  
  
"No I haven't."  
  
"Isn't that kind of weird?" Hitomi came up to Iruka so that she was sitting in front of him.  
  
"No it's not weird because he is gay Hitomi." Gai muttered under his breath.  
  
"Well how do you know if you gay if you haven't even kissed anyone who is female?" Hitomi looked from Gai back to Iruka.  
  
"I don't know....I just know how I feel about Kakashi." Iruka knew his face had to be bright red.  
  
Hitomi seemed to think about it for a while before she smiled. Well if Iruka hadn't kissed anyone but Kakashi she could fix that! After all it would be a crime if Iruka only experienced one person in his dating career.  
  
Iruka sighed as he closed his eyes. He heard Gai lay down on the couch and opened his eyes again to see Hitomi right in front of him with a smile on her face.  
  
"Hitomi wha..." Iruka was cut off as Hitomi kissed him. His eyes went wide.  
  
/ What the crap? /  
  
"Hey what's going on here?" Iruka tried to turn around as fast as he could but since his hands were still tied he ended up causing Hitomi to fall on him.  
  
"K...Kakashi!" Iruka blurted out.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
O O O!!! What will happen next? (Hehehe sorry I couldn't help myself! ....Once again)  
  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and now for my replies!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'Replies '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Sausweet: Yeah I wasn't that happy about Iruka losing either but I just figured Iruka if it came down to it was probably weaker than Mizuki at the time. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Kami Beverly: Do you mean my sister and me are messed up or just me and the voices in my head? lol just kidding! Thanks for the review!  
  
Silver Neo: Wow I have never had characters review too! That was really fun to receive in a review. Just to answer Naruto he is about 3 right now! But don't worry blondie you will pop up eventually! Thanks for the review!  
  
Distant Soul: Yeah sorry about the lemon but I'm sure it wasn't really needed in this story but I am making a story as of soon with lemon in it so I hope you read that! Thanks for the review!  
  
Silent Bob 546: Don't worry too much about Hitomi her story arch is just something I'm using to progress! Let's just hope she doesn't make any more ripples in the KakaIru lake of love! (ew I hate puns! lol)  
  
firedraygon97: I will give all the kakairu goodness my fingers can type! But hopefully with a plot! Right!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`' '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'  
  
Please Review!! 


	11. Hello Mr Iruka's Boyfriend!

I should probably stop putting a disclaimer up here because I'm pretty sure no one reads them anymore but then again if I am wrong then I don't have anything to worry about because I do not own Naruto so you know!  
  
I just got my braces today and my teeth don't hurt that bad..........everybody kept telling me how much it would hurt and they only feel funny. I guess that's a good thing, this is going to be sad though because I have to have them for 21 months-ish so that means I am going to have them for my senior year!! *cries and then gets over*  
  
Well this is Chapter 11!! *faints* Of 'Growing Pains' man I never thought I would get this far and still have people enjoy my story! I love you all and the replies to all the reviews are after the story!  
  
ENJOY!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Chapter 11: Hello Mr. Iruka's boyfriend!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hey what's going on here?" Iruka tried to turn around as fast as he could but since his hands were still tied he ended up causing Hitomi to fall on him.  
  
"K...Kakashi!" Iruka blurted out.  
  
"Hello Mr. Iruka's boyfriend!" Hitomi chirped as Gai sat up looking at the strange position his two friends were in then at Kakashi who just stood there staring at them.  
  
"Hey Kakashi.......welcome back?" Gai didn't really know what had happened since he was almost asleep but judging by how Hitomi was on top of Iruka he could only guess.  
  
Kakashi just stared at everyone in the living room for a second before he looked at Iruka and the strange outfit and make up he had on. Kakashi was tired from traveling and wanted to rest, he looked at the clock to see it was past the afternoon time. He sighed before glancing back at Iruka and then turning around so he could walk to his room.  
  
Iruka stared in silence as Kakashi disappeared down the hallway trying to think of how this could get any worse. After he heard Kakashi's door click shut he turned to Hitomi who looked a little worried.  
  
"Uh-Oh." Hitomi whispered as she put her fingers on her lips.  
  
"Uh-Oh? UH-OH? Why did you do that?" Iruka threw his arms up showing he had easily gotten out of the rope and stood up.  
  
"I did something bad......." Hitomi smirked playfully. "Oh well can't cry over it now, I'm sure ya'll can work it out!"  
  
Iruka glared at her as he ran his hands through his hair then looked over at Gai who seemed to be trying to guess what exactly happened. He returned to glaring at Hitomi who was acting as if nothing happened.  
  
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Iruka yelled startling everyone in the room, even Gai. "Why are you acting like such a little kid? Do you not understand what you just did to me? Aren't you older than me? Shouldn't that say something to you?"  
  
"Iruka calm down." Gai smiled over at the obviously upset chunin. "Just calm down."  
  
"CALM DOWN! Seesh!" Iruka squatted on the floor and started rocking back and forth. "What if Kakashi........why did you kiss me?"  
  
"Because I thought that it was unfair for Kakashi to have you all to himself silly!" Hitomi smiled nonchalantly at Iruka.  
  
"You kissed him! What are you stupid?" Gai shouted at her, surprising Hitomi who didn't seem to get what was going on.  
  
"What's so wrong with that?" She laughed.  
  
"For starters you knew he was taken, second he's gay, and thirdly Kakashi isn't nice when he's jealous and Iruka........." They both turned their heads to the boy facing the wall with his hands in his hair. "Iruka is known for taking the worst guilt trips!"  
  
Hitomi bit her lip and sighed. She had only thought it would be fun, she never really thought that anything bad could come out of it. Hitomi crawled over to where Iruka was and poked him in the shoulder.  
  
"Sorry Iruka-kun, I......."  
  
"I'm sorry Hitomi, it's probably my fault anyways." Iruka sighed as he stood up leaving the dumbfounded girl. "Stay here okay I am going to go to Kakashi."  
  
"But Iruka-kun it was my......."  
  
"Shhh!" Hitomi turned her gaze towards Gai who was shushing her. "Don't make it worst."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi plopped down on his bed and closed his eyes.  
  
/ I did not see anything. I did not see anything. I am soooooooooo tired that my mind is giving me illusions. /  
  
"Crap." Kakashi sat up and made himself comfortable on his bed.  
  
He yawned and looked at the ceiling, he could probably get a few hours of sleep in. Kakashi was about to go to sleep when he started to laugh. At first it was a small soft laugh but it eventually grew to the point the jounin was nearly at tears.  
  
It was so funny all of the sudden, as Kakashi thought of the scenario, a man walking into his house to find his lover cheating on him. It was so cliché! And it was definitely not Iruka!  
  
After Kakashi realized he wasn't going to be able to sleep he sat up. Maybe he could find out what happened so that no one thought that their relationship was on the rocks for something so stupid. Kakashi knew without a doubt Iruka wouldn't cheat on him so whatever that was, was going to come with a good explanation.  
  
Kakashi was about to hop of his bed when he heard a small tap on his door.  
  
"Come in Iruka." Kakashi smiled under his mask, realizing he still had it on he quickly pulled it down so he could smile at the chunin who walked in the room.  
  
Iruka walked in as if he had just committed a sin and was going to die for it but when he looked at Kakashi he noticed something odd. The jounin was smiling at him. Do people usually smile when there mad? Iruka gave Kakashi a confused glance before he sighed.  
  
"Kakashi I......"  
  
"Take to long to explain things?" Kakashi smiled and patted the area beside him on his bed for Iruka to come and sit next to him. "Iruka I really don't care.......you can tell me later or something if it bothers you okay."  
  
Iruka smiled at Kakashi and nodded as he sat next to the jounin. They sat there a while in silence before Kakashi lunged himself on Iruka scaring the younger teen.  
  
"I want to make-out with you so badly!" Kakashi cried out as if he was pleading but then smirked mischievously at Iruka pulling the smaller boy underneath him. "Are you trying to seduce me with that outfit Iruka~kun!"  
  
Iruka blushed as he realized he still had the outfit Hitomi had put on him earlier, torn shorts, no shirt, strange jewelry, and some weird markings on his skin. Iruka felt more like a virgin sacrifice and when he looked at Kakashi he started to believe that he had been sacrificed to the jounin.  
  
"You look very sexy with that tan body of yours." Kakashi kissed Iruka's chest causing the chunin to squirm a bit then he slowly moved up. "So how bad do you feel about what happened earlier?"  
  
"What?" Iruka stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"Well I just thought that I might be able to pull the guilty party card on you and maybe you could redeem yourself by letting us have hot animal s......."  
  
( That one part was dedicated to Vin.......thanks for the review!)  
  
Iruka punched Kakashi as his face flushed up.  
  
"I can't believe you just said that!" Iruka was about to move when Kakashi regained his senses and pinned the brunette down under him. "Your such a pervert Kakashi!"  
  
Kakashi didn't bother replying and kissed Iruka. Iruka tried to glare at Kakashi but slowly returned the kiss until Kakashi separated them. Kakashi gave Iruka a quick grin before he started to kiss the chunin all over. Even if they hadn't seen each other only for a few days it felt like it had been forever since he had Iruka alone.  
  
"Kakashi......." Iruka had a small smirk on his lips as he closed his eyes. "We really can't be doing this, we have people in the living room."  
  
"I know......it just makes it more fun." Kakashi cupped Iruka's cheek with one hand and kissed the chunin on the lips once a again, this time letting his tongue play with Iruka's bottom lip before Iruka allowed him entrance.  
  
Iruka placed his hands on Kakashi's shoulders as the jounin moved his hands down Iruka's sides getting a small reaction from the chunin. It seems Kakashi had forgotten how ticklish Iruka could be sometimes. Kakashi broke the kiss and smirked at Iruka who was blushing madly. He moved himself so that his mouth would be right beside Iruka's ear.  
  
"So, you still belong to me ne?" Kakashi whispered causing Iruka to open his eyes when the jounin started moving his fingers over one of Iruka's sides. "I would hate to think about how much power I have over you right now."  
  
"Y......you wouldn't?" Iruka glared at the smirking jounin now trying to escape from the hold he was in.  
  
"So much power." Kakashi said playfully before he grabbed Iruka.  
  
"Kakashi you better not! Or I'll........" Iruka was never able to finish the sentence as Kakashi started to tickle him causing the chunin to break out into laughter. "K.....K......Ka........Kakashi!.......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! PLEASE..........."  
  
"Please what Iruka-kun?" Kakashi now had a full smile as the teen tried to push him off but was to out of breathe. He continued his tickling receiving a good few hits from Iruka but that only made him tickle harder.  
  
"PLEASE STOP!" Iruka finally was able to shout as tears ran down his face. Kakashi only pouted a bit before he stopped and let Iruka catch his breathe.  
  
"But only because you asked nicely." Kakashi curved his eyes as Iruka glared at him.  
  
"I hate you......" Iruka muttered holding his sides.  
  
"No you don't." Kakashi teased rubbing Iruka's flushed cheeks with his thumb. "You love me!"  
  
"No I hate you." Iruka turned over so Kakashi couldn't see his face.  
  
Kakashi just pulled him closer to him and turned Iruka around so that they could face each other.  
  
"Well that's too bad because I'm head over heels for you."  
  
Iruka blushed at what Kakashi said and smiled. He sat up and hugged the jounin before kissing him several times.  
  
"You know I love you Kakashi." Iruka muttered in defeat as Kakashi smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah I know."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hitomi.......I......." Gai sighed as they sat next to each other on the couch.  
  
"Yeah I shouldn't have done that, after all I said I would go on a date with you and Iruka is already taken. I guess my fiancée wouldn't appreciate it that much either." Hitomi sighed as Gai's jaw dropped.  
  
"You're engaged!!" Gai yelled as Hitomi just looked at him and smiled.  
  
"Yeah, is that a problem?"  
  
"But! What? You said you would go out with me!" Gai sat back in the couch and sighed. Maybe this chick had a screw loose or something.  
  
"Yeah because I like you!" Hitomi laughed as Gai looked at her frowning.  
  
"But you're engaged."  
  
"Yep!" She smiled at him.  
  
"But you still want to go out with me?"  
  
"Yep!" Hitomi scooted over to him and hugged his arm. "It's an arranged marriage so I have no say but my parents said I could cancel it if I found the one I love on this vacation."  
  
"Do you think that's me?" Gai had starry eyes as he stared at her.  
  
"Maybe." She smiled at him. "I was hoping we could go on a date so I could get to know you better."  
  
"Really!" Gai had a huge smiled and jumped up doing a pose. "We can go out tomorrow during the festival!"  
  
Hitomi smiled at Gai with a small blush on her face. He was so funny, not to mention full of energy.  
  
"A festival sounds great but what if Iruka doesn't let me go. I'm sure he's mad at me......" Hitomi was about to continue when they heard a loud laughter coming from Kakashi's room. "Or maybe not?"  
  
"Sounds like they are okay." Gai smiled, even if he wasn't into guys he still like those to as a couple. "Maybe we can make it a double date with them."  
  
"Sounds fabulous!" Hitomi stood up and hugged Gai. "Wow."  
  
Gai looked down at Hitomi who was staring at his face with a little glazed look in her eyes. He started to feel a little uncomfortable when she grabbed him and pulled his face down so that they were eye level.  
  
"You have really nice cheek bones!"  
  
"Thank you?" Gai hesitated.  
  
"If our kids had your cheek bones with my looks they would be gorgeous!" Hitomi smiled as Gai blushed.  
  
Maybe love at first sight wasn't a thing ninjas could never experience. Gai leaned forward and gave Hitomi a quick chaste kiss before stepping away. He was about to say something when they heard the door open and Iruka walked out holding Kakashi's hand with a small smile on his face. Kakashi had his left eye covered and his facemask back on but you could tell he wasn't in a bad mood.  
  
"Hey Iruka can we go to the festival tomorrow?" Hitomi smiled at them.  
  
"Yeah but help me clean up this mess okay. You too Gai." Iruka started picking up all the junk that had brought in the living room from their game they had played earlier.  
  
"Oh!" Hitomi all the sudden jumped up from the ground where she had been picking up pieces of rope.  
  
"Something wrong?" Kakashi gave her a small glare before hugging Iruka in a possessive manor. So what if he knew Iruka would never cheat on him. Iruka was his and Kakashi wasn't the type to share.  
  
"I need to buy a kimono for the festival! I need to dress nice for my date with Gai-kun!" Hitomi smiled at the blushing Gai.  
  
"But all the stores are closed." Gai looked at the clock. He had been there longer than he thought. It was already dark outside, but he just shrugged it wasn't like his roommate would worry about him.  
  
"Darn." Hitomi snapped her fingers and sighed.  
  
"You could barrow one of......." Iruka stopped and smiled at Kakashi. "Hitomi you could barrow one of my mom's old kimonos."  
  
"But......would you mind?" She smiled shyly at him before he shook his head. "Thanks Iruka-kun! I owe you big time!"  
  
Kakashi smiled at Iruka and hugged the chunin before he let go.  
  
"Well then lets all get some rest." Every one nodded as Gai said his goodbyes and left.  
  
"Goodnight Iruka-kun! Goodnight Kakashi-san!" Hitomi shouted at them from Iruka's room before she made herself comfortable and went to sleep.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"How did your mission go?" Iruka curled up into Kakashi's chest wrapping his arms around the jounin's waist. "You seem a little tired, and a little different."  
  
"You know I'm always tired." Kakashi ran his fingers through Iruka's hair receiving a small growl from Iruka whom hated it when Kakashi did that. He complained that Kakashi treated him like a child. "The mission was fine, nothing to worry about."  
  
Iruka pulled himself up so that they were eye to eye and smiled before he kissed Kakashi. Kakashi quickly kissed back taking dominance before Iruka could complain. He moved so that Iruka was under him and broke the kiss so that they could have air.  
  
"I.....uh." Iruka blushed as Kakashi smiled at him. Even if Kakashi wouldn't admit it, Iruka knew Kakashi was acting a little more possessive than usual.  
  
Kakashi kissed Iruka passionately sliding one of his hands under Iruka's shirt massaging Iruka's skin. Iruka made a small 'eep' sound because Kakashi's hands were really cold but was too lost in the kiss to even move. Kakashi kept their bodies close together and broke the kiss with a small smirk when Iruka seemed a little annoyed at the fact he had broken the kiss.  
  
"I want you." Kakashi whispered as Iruka blushed.  
  
"You already have me." Iruka whispered back kissing Kakashi on the lips. Kakashi said he was okay with the whole Hitomi thing but he was definitely more possessive.  
  
"No......I mean I want you." Kakashi whispered once again before sliding Iruka's shirt off and kissing the chunins chest. "I want all of you."  
  
Iruka's flushed cheeks seemed to redden and he finally started to catch on to what Kakashi was hinting towards. Iruka became nervous all of the sudden but Kakashi seemed to notice and kissed Iruka more passionately than he had before. Kakashi ended the kiss by slowly pulling away and waited for Iruka to open his eyes.  
  
"Can I......can I have you?" Iruka looked Kakashi in the eyes as he ran his smaller hands through Kakashi's sliver hair.  
  
The moment was still and quiet and both could hear their heartbeats in their ears. Iruka leaned in towards Kakashi placing a small kiss on the jounin's forehead before lying back down.  
  
"Yes, you can."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Wow Iruka-kun! This is beautiful!" Hitomi did a small spin in the kimono she was wearing before she smiled at the teen. "I love it!"  
  
"Yeah? It was my mom's favorite." Iruka smiled. He thought it would be hard at first to see his mom's kimono but it seemed to cheer him up even more to see it once again.  
  
"Hey let me help you with your hair." Hitomi walked up beside Iruka and started to mess around and even pulled out some gel. "Here you go!"  
  
Iruka stared at the mirror in shock. Hitomi had......Hitomi had styled his hair like Gai's.  
  
"Whoa!" Both teens turned around to see Kakashi at the door in a kimono too but still with his facemask and hitai-ate leaf headband on. "You sure look.........um...... different."  
  
"What does that mean?" Hitomi glared at Kakashi before noticing Iruka was washing out all the gel in a sink. "Aw! Iruka you didn't like it?"  
  
"No it just wasn't me Hitomi." Iruka smiled apologetically. She just smiled back before she left the room leaving the two lovers alone.  
  
There was a moment of silence as Iruka blushed and Kakashi just scratched the back of his head. The stared at the ground for a moment before Kakashi came to where Iruka was sitting and sat next to him.  
  
"You........uh.......okay?" Kakashi tried to hide the blush on his cheeks but you could see some of it where his facemask didn't cover.  
  
"Yeah......" Iruka gave an uncomfortable laugh before he looked at Kakashi and leaned against the jounin's arm. "I'm okay."  
  
Kakashi moved around so he could pull Iruka in his arms to his chest and rested his chin on Iruka's wet hair. Iruka had a small blush on his cheeks but made himself comfortable in his lover's arms.  
  
"Aw!" Both boys turned their heads to see Hitomi smiling. "Gai-kun's here!"  
  
"You ready Kakashi?" Iruka moved his head so he could look at the jounin.  
  
"Yeah let's go and have a party." Kakashi curved his one visible eye as they stood up and followed Hitomi to the living room where Gai stood in a green kimono and flowers he handed to Hitomi,  
  
"Aw Gai-kun!" Hitomi hugged the flowers before she hugged Gai. "Iruka-kun, do you have a place for these?"  
  
"Yeah." Iruka grabbed Hitomi by the arm. "We'll be right back."  
  
Kakashi and Gai glared at each other when Iruka and Hitomi were out of hearing range.  
  
"I don't want to do a double date." Kakashi muttered as Gai put his hand to his chin and smiled.  
  
"But that is why I have a plan my rival!" After Gai did a few poses Kakashi listened to the plan and nodded approvingly. "So how does that sound?"  
  
"I can't believe you actually came up with something that clever.......but it sounds good." Kakashi turned around as Gai started mumbling about how 'cool' and 'laid-back' he could be and how that 'was the reason they were rivals'.  
  
"Ok boys we are ready!" Hitomi chirped as Iruka blushed. Iruka didn't like being situated as one of the girls.  
  
They walked by each other through the streets of Konoha, passing by a few friends and Hitomi introducing herself to everyone as Gai's 'possible' future wife. There was a huge parade going on as a man from the Cloud walked the streets waving to the people, promising peace to the bystanders. Everybody in Konoha was there for the most part and Iruka made sure to point out the clans to Hitomi so she would understand why some people were wearing weird cloths.  
  
"Hey Gai....." Kakashi elbowed his friend as Hitomi moved from Gai's arm to Iruka's. "Don't you think we should separate now?"  
  
"Don't tell me your jealous because Iruka is doing his job, ya know being a tour guide?" Gai glared blandly at Kakashi before looking at his watch. "Yeah I wanted to take her to the park for lunch."  
  
"We can meet at the firework show okay, you know what we look like so keep a look out." As Gai nodded Kakashi moved into action for plan 'separate from leach and think-brows' to begin.  
  
"I don't see the Hyuga clan here........hm but over there is the Fuma clan. My friend Mizuki is probably over there and there is the Uchiha clan. They are really good fighters, and ......." Iruka felt Kakashi pull his arm and looked over at the jounin. "Something wrong Kakashi?"  
  
"Do you guys want to ride that over there." Kakashi pointed to the Ferris wheel that wasn't too far off.  
  
"Yeah that looks fun!" Hitomi let go of Iruka's arm and grabbed Gai's hand dragging the green beast to the ride. "Let's go!"  
  
Iruka was about to follow when Kakashi grabbed his hand causing the chunin to blush and look up at him. Kakashi pulled Iruka in the other direction smirking under his mask, as Iruka didn't make any complaints and just followed the jounin.  
  
"I hope you don't mind but me and Gai thought four was crowd." Kakashi stated jokingly when he hugged Iruka. "Plus I'm sure we will have more fun if it's just the two of us."  
  
"But Kakashi, I'm supposed to be her 'tour guide' while she is here........" Iruka was cut off by a kiss from cloth-covered lips.  
  
"I'm sure Gai can be trusted." Kakashi started walking through the small shops and stands not letting go of Iruka's hand, nearly dragging the chunin behind him till Iruka caught up in step.  
  
As the two boys walked throughout the stands they finally came up to a small stand decorated with stuff animals and balloons. Iruka saw that there was a fish tank with cloth fans to catch the fish with. He had played this when he was little and lost a good amount of money too.  
  
"Hey Kakashi, can we stop here?" Iruka smiled mischievously, he was going to catch a fish.  
  
"Hn?" Kakashi looked at the booth and nodded. "But you know this thing is rigged right?"  
  
"Ha! I'm a ninja! I can handle this." And Iruka folded up the sleeves of his kimono as he paid the vendor some money and started to play the game.  
  
About thirty minutes later Kakashi was standing outside of the booth talking to some of the people he hadn't seen in a while when Iruka emerged with a small fish in a bag and a stuff animal.  
  
"Got one?" Kakashi smiled mockingly but Iruka could only tell by the sound in his voice.  
  
"Yeah I finally got one! And since I was a good sport about all of those other times the vendor gave me this." Iruka pouted as he held up a stuffed dolphin. "I swear he was making fun of me."  
  
"What gave you that idea?" Kakashi grabbed the dolphin and threw it at Iruka before he got it again and connected it to his belt.  
  
"Iruka? What are you doing here?" Mizuki ran up to his friend. "I thought you swore off this place after that one incident."  
  
"Really?" Kakashi gave an amused look at Iruka when Mizuki finally noticed it was Kakashi with Iruka.  
  
"Yeah, he spent over a hundred dollars at this place when we were six I think. It was really funny, he ended up........." Iruka threw his fish at Mizuki.  
  
"Shut-up and look! I finally beat it!" Iruka stood proud before Mizuki started to laugh.  
  
"You're a ninja now! Of course you could beat it. I bet you got this small one on your first try right?" Mizuki started laughing when Iruka blushed and looked at the ground. "You didn't?"  
  
"Mizuki-kun!" Mizuki turned around and waved at his family then turned towards Iruka. "See ya later man. Bye Kakashi."  
  
"Humph." Iruka frowned. Kakashi just laughed softly before putting his arm around the chunin.  
  
"Where do you want to go next?"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Wow!" Iruka stared at the golden fireworks that filled the sky. He turned around when he heard a soft chuckle and looked at Kakashi. "What?"  
  
"You look like a little kid." Kakashi stated before Iruka pouted at him.  
  
"I'm not a kid." Iruka glared but then heard more explosions and looked up to see many shapes and sizes of every color fill the sky. "It's just been a while since Konoha has ever had a festival this big."  
  
Kakashi pulled Iruka over to him lazily as Iruka placed his head on the jounin's stomach. They sat on the grass staring at the sky as it was filled with many decorations. Kakashi pulled down his mask when he noticed everyone was to hypnotized in the show and kissed Iruka quickly before he slipped it back on.  
  
Iruka blushed and looked back up at Kakashi. He sat up so that they could make easier eye contact and kissed Kakashi even though his facemask blocked him from feeling the jounin's skin. They made themselves comfortable with Kakashi leaning against a tree and Iruka in-between his legs leaning against the jounin's chest.  
  
Iruka had a small blush on his cheeks and noticed some people looked over at him confused but the eventually stopped. Iruka didn't care what people thought, he was with Kakashi right now, and this moment was so......  
  
"Beautiful." Iruka whispered.  
  
"Yeah the fireworks are pretty amazing." Kakashi rested his chin on Iruka's head.  
  
"No not that." Iruka sat up a bit and turned around so he could see Kakashi. "This, what we are doing right now, I never want this to end."  
  
Kakashi was slightly stunned at what Iruka had just said and blushed under his mask.  
  
"Me neither." Kakashi whispered giving Iruka a quick kiss before Iruka turned back around and they got back into the position they were in before. "Me neither."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
And p-sama7 wrote looked at her newest chapter and said, "It is good."  
  
Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was sort of short but at the same time the normal length of my writings.........I hope this chapter was too fluffy! Well thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!  
  
After my sister read this she got mad at me because Kakashi and Iruka will eventually break up........it's inevitable so don't get to set on this little happy setting because we are heading for another angst wave! (lol) But I hope no one makes any rash judgments and just stops reading cause you should always read a story all the way through!  
  
Well now that THAT is said I will give you my farewell until next time!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Replies'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Hari-chan: Thanks! I'm not the best though but definitely thanks! I was having such a bad day until I got your review! It's nice to know you like way I write and don't worry about the Asuma/Shikamaru because I am thinking up a new fic in my mind that will have them and a few other couplings!  
  
Hatake Iruka: You can't go on a hunger strike!! And that's final or else I will feel so bad about you not eating I would commit seppuku and die by the honor of the fanfiction author code! But I'm glad that my story made you really like KakaIru but I'm sure you like the pairing to begin with! (lol) Well I have updated so you better gorge yourself with food!  
  
Silver Neo: Once again I have been blessed with your reviews! Hahaha I laughed when I got yours so thanks so much! Couples usually do kiss and make up don't they hehehehehehehe but what if they do so much more?  
  
Kami Beverly: Well I would let you beat the crap out of Hitomi but I'm using her right now so you will just have to wait! Don't feel too bad...........never mind the characters deserve sympathy so you can feel bad for them all you want! Thanks for the review!  
  
Vin: Well I hope you liked that one part I dedicated to you........yep you're a pervert aren't you? (lol) Thanks for the review!  
  
Riya: *pokes back* take that and that! *keeps poking till finger is tired* wooo well thinks to your uh.......unique form of encouragement I have updated once again! Iruka is a cute kid ne?  
  
Renn: Yes very bad Hitomi.........too bad she *whisper whisper* !!! I guess you will just have to continue reading to find out! *laughs* Thanks for the reviews!  
  
Shiroki Kietsuki: Thanks for adding me to your alert list! I hate cliffys too but don't they make the story fun! Well for me anyway *laughs* well I'm glad you enjoy this story and I really love KakaIru too! Though I'm starting to enjoy Asu/Shika right now........but that shall have to wait! Thanks for the review!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`' ``'`'`'`  
  
Please Review! And Have a great month of LOVE!! 


	12. Happy Valentines Day?

This is version two of chapter 12 I hope this one is better! I didn't change that much just elaborated more and added a scene at the end.  
  
I do not *yawn* own Naruto or any of Kishimoto-sensei's characters nor do I own anything that belongs to the man who created the manga that became the show that helped us use our imagination so that we could put our two cents in and call it a fanfiction and for this I would like to thank Kishimoto- sensei!!  
  
Wow that almost sounded like I could break into a 'Kishimoto had a dream' speech lol. I am unbelievably tired right now and it is only 8pm.............yet I feel like the piece of carpet next to my computer would make a nice bed right now *considers it* but I can't because I have to give you the new chapter!  
  
I realized I never put a warning up in my chapters so I decided to do so now.............yeah  
BEWARE: Content beyond this point contains some yaoi or shonen-ai or boy loves boys action so please read at own risk but at the same time I'm guessing if you got this far in my story you pretty much know by now.............  
  
Well this might be a few days late but I wrote this chapter on Valentines Day and the thing that took so long was my failure at a spell checking attempts so without further a due I give you the next chapter of KakaIru- ness.  
  
Enjoy.  
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Chapter 12: Happy Valentines Day?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi opened his eyes as Iruka moved around in his sleep. It appeared his lover was having a restless sleep and since Kakashi was already a light sleeper it didn't make his sleep in easier.  
  
Kakashi sighed as he pulled Iruka closer to him causing Iruka to curl into his body's warmth. Kakashi had a small grin on his face as he played with Iruka's hair as Iruka murmured something about waffles and fish as if he was at a restaurant making an order.  
  
Kakashi wrapped his arms around Iruka and looked out the window. It was nice being back home and sharing a bed with Iruka, it was very peaceful and a lot less bloody than the mission field.  
  
Apparently Kakashi had been recognized as an astounding shinobi and therefore a threat to all assassins and his name and information was put into the notorious 'black-book'. At first Kakashi had thought something was up when he seemed to be getting attacked more frequently on missions but after he found out about the 'black-book' he realized it was both a blessing and a curse to be famous amongst criminals.  
  
Majority of criminals and missing-nins would avoid anyone even near Kakashi's description out of fear of being caught while others planned to learn more so they could find weaknesses. But the downfall of it all was the few very dangerous shinobi who saw it as a chance to test themselves against another superior.  
  
Kakashi felt Iruka's breath against his skin before Iruka mumbled something about 'the ocean calling him home' and rolled off of Kakashi's chest. Kakashi smiled in amusement before he discreetly got out of bed. He would have to wake up soon anyway so he concluded that he might actually show up on time for watch duty today.  
  
That was until he remembered Gai was the one with it before he had to go and so Kakashi decided he could be two hours late. Gai liked working over time anyway right?  
  
Kakashi found one of his shirts and some pants to put on as he left his room grabbing his facemask just in case some girl in the other room decided to wake up. Very few people were allowed to see what Kakashi looked like under his mask and he had to like you at least to be considered which was definitely not Hitomi.  
  
As the silver haired jounin made his way to the kitchen he looked at the calendar Iruka had on the fridge. Oh how Kakashi despised the month of January and then it was followed by its evil twin February but at the same time.............something kept nagging Kakashi. Was there something going on nest month that he should remember?  
  
Kakashi was about to turn on the lights when he sensed several ninjas running passed the house. He quickly grabbed his hitai-ate leaf headband and covered his Sharingan eye as he opened the door. Kakashi noticed the uniforms of the Anbu as they ran across Konoha in an quick pace.  
  
What was up?  
  
"Kakashi!" Kakashi turned around to see Gai looking troubled as he approached the house.  
  
"Gai what's going on?" Kakashi offered Gai to come inside but the green beast just shook his head.  
  
"Something happened at the Hyuga household. The heir of the main family was almost kidnapped but that's all I know of it. Hokage-sama sent us out to get a few people, including you, and return to his office." Gai stated out flatly.  
  
Kakashi just nodded and grabbed his vest, which he had left on the kitchen table and disappeared with Gai.  
  
Today seemed like it was going to be a long day.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka stretched out and yawned as the early morning sun filtered into his room. He opened his eyes slowly wiping away the sleepy tears he had gotten from stretching and felt for the non-existent figure that was supposed to be next to him.  
  
Iruka turned his head over to see Kakashi was gone and sighed. He had a weird dream last night but didn't really remember the details just that is was weird and now Kakashi was gone. Iruka just shrugged it off though, Kakashi probably had something come up last minute. That usually happened when you were considered as talented as Kakashi.  
  
Iruka got up slowly crawling out of bed and finding the nearest shirt to him before slipping it on and walking out of his room.  
  
"Good morning Iruka-kun!" Hitomi smiled as she slipped some shoes on her feet.  
  
"Good Morning?" Iruka looked at Hitomi, it was 6:30 a.m. and she looked like she was about to go shopping. "Going anywhere?"  
  
"What?" Hitomi looked at her outfit and smiled. "Actually Gai wanted to take me on a morning stroll this morning but he is a little late."  
  
"Well maybe something came up, do you want anything for breakfast?" Iruka walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apron to tie on as he grabbed a few eggs.  
  
"I'll have whatever your making." Hitomi shouted to Iruka from the living room before looking out of the window. "It looks like rain today."  
  
"Don't worry I'm sure if it rains you and Gai can something else." Iruka smiled in the kitchen at no one in particular.  
  
"Hey Iruka-kun!" Hitomi stood up and went into the kitchen looking a little solemn. "Is something wrong Hitomi?" Iruka grabbed a plate and put it in front of her as she sat at the table.  
  
"Well I don't know how to tell you this but you're fired." She looked at Iruka who looked at her in shock.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't mean that I'm leaving or anything but I don't need a tour guide anymore and stuff..............but could I still stay here with you and Kakashi- san?" She smiled politely as Iruka just nodded his head.  
  
"You need to learn how to phrase your words better Hitomi-chan."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"Nothing don't worry about it, lets eat." Iruka brought out some chopsticks and then they ate, it was the beginning of another day at the Umino residence.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
The Hyuga incident had been the talk of Konoha for a few weeks following. Iruka never knew Hizashi personally but he did know that Kakashi had gone on a few missions with him. Kakashi never really said anything on the matter but then again what could he say, Hizashi chose his fate.  
  
"Iruka! I'm leaving!" Hitomi shouted across the house not knowing where to locate the chunin. "Iruka-kun? Gai is here!"  
  
"Huh?" Iruka ran to the front door with dust covering his body to show that he had been cleaning something. "Oh hey Gai."  
  
"Hey Iruka, did you enjoy the weather yesterday?" Gai smiled as Iruka dusted himself off.  
  
"Yeah it was perfect for a picnic too bad you and Kakashi were busy." Iruka smiled back. "You guys have fun on your date okay!"  
  
"We will!" Hitomi grabbed Gai by the arm ignoring the blush that grew on the green beast's face and took off running down the street. "I'll be back around eight!"  
  
Iruka just waved them off before he turned around and shut the door. He didn't have any missions today because Hitomi had just fired him this morning. He would have to go tell Hokage tomorrow and decided he could clean the house today.  
  
"Kakashi will get home at three and Hitomi at eight.............." Iruka blushed a bit thinking of stuff he could do in the five hour differences before he looked at the calendar and smiled. "Valentines day is coming up soon!"  
  
Iruka went into his room which he hadn't visited since Hitomi had moved in there and was surprised to see it clean as if it hadn't been touched despite the suitcase and a few photographs on his dresser. Iruka walked over to see they were of Hitomi's family most likely.  
  
After finding himself some cloths he could put in Kakashi's room so he wasn't wearing the jounin's shirts all the time he shut the door to his room and went into the kitchen. Iruka saw it had darkened outside quickly and there was water running down the windows. Hopefully Gai and Hitomi were still having fun.  
  
"I wonder if............" Iruka smiled as he thought about Hitomi and Gai.  
  
Those two had been seeing each other almost everyday since they had first met. At first Iruka had thought it was just a small attraction but the way they were always together it seemed like they were trying to get to know each other as quick as possible. Maybe Hitomi had finally found the man she wanted to be with.  
  
Iruka heard footsteps outside and ran to the window to see Kakashi walking in the rain. Something must have been up if Iruka could actually here Kakashi, the jounin was very stealth like in everything he did even when he was in public if you weren't looking at him you wouldn't even notice he was there.  
  
"Iruka?" Kakashi opened the door and looked around to see Iruka walking towards him from the living room.  
  
"Kakashi?"  
  
"Oh, just making sure you were here. The weather is pretty bad today." Kakashi took off his wet vest and almost threw it on the floor when Iruka glared at him so he put it on the coat rack by the door.  
  
"Yeah I hope Gai and Hitomi's date isn't effected." Iruka walked into the kitchen to make lunch for Kakashi.  
  
"Another date?" Kakashi followed Iruka and went to the fridge and pulled out some milk. "You would think that they were getting married."  
  
"I thought so too." Iruka smiled at Kakashi. "And that wouldn't be so bad now would it?"  
  
"What? Gai and Hitomi getting married? I guess not you know despite the fact that Hitomi is 15 and Gai is 18 not to mention they have only known each other for what, a month now." Kakashi gave Iruka a quizzical look as the chunin smiled at him even bigger.  
  
"There are no guidelines to follow when its love Kakashi-koi." Iruka put some noodles on the table and sat down.  
  
"You sound like you've been listening to Gai's preaching all day." Kakashi sat down in front of Iruka and gave a playful glare at Iruka. "Do you know something that I don't about our two friends dating?"  
  
"What? Me know something you don't? Why Kakashi how could you think something like that?" Iruka wrinkled his nose at Kakashi like a little kid before the jounin glared at him.  
  
"Are they seriously getting hitched?" Kakashi sat back in his chair after he finished eating as Iruka just shrugged.  
  
"Who knows but if they do I will be happy for them."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"So you can start on other missions again Iruka?" The Hokage pulled the pipe out of his mouth as he smiled at the 14 year old.  
  
"Yes Hokage-sama so give me what you got!" Iruka smiled as more shinobi gathered to get their missions for the day.  
  
"Well I'll start you off with............."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka walked into his house very tired. So much for starting with the easy missions no he had to baby sit the Fire Country Lord's children which was a genin level task but the Lord insisted on at least a chunin level shinobi and now Iruka new why.  
  
He had been burned, pushed off the roof of the five-story house, nearly drowned when the six children thought it would be funny to play lifeguard and then they ended up tying his feet to a brick and pushing him in the lake. Then there was the youngest kid who got stuck in a tree so while Iruka had gone up to get her the rest of her siblings decided to play hide and seek with the whole fire country at their disposal. Iruka had finally found the last one at the border of the Fire Country near the land of the waves three hours ago, not that Iruka couldn't handle all of this with his ninja skill and he had prevented a lot of worse scenarios from happening it was just that he was dead tired now.  
  
Not to mention he had been doing this for a week now.  
  
Iruka passed by the kitchen table to see a note from Hitomi stating she was with Gai and would be back that evening. He sighed and made his way to Kakashi's room to take a nap. Iruka thought that he should at least be able to get three hours worth of a nap before Kakashi got home and then they could..................Iruka paused for a moment at the door.  
  
There was something he was supposed to do today and it had to be today but for some reason the chunin couldn't remember.  
  
Iruka looked over at the bed and shrugged it off, if it was really important he would remember when he woke up.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi opened the door slowly as he made his way into the house. He was holding three paper bags full of stuff he had bought at the market and slowly put them on the kitchen table looking around the house for any signs of Iruka.  
  
Kakashi peeked inside of his room to see Iruka knocked out cold on the bed and smiled. Today was going to be the best Valentines Day ever because Kakashi actually remembered!  
  
Kakashi made his way back into the kitchen and went over all the stuff he had gotten. He got two-dozen roses for Iruka and had bought several candles and some food he would have to cook. Kakashi didn't know what to get Iruka to start off with so he went to ask Gai for advice though his rival was on a date with Hitomi. Even though everything they said seemed to be ridiculous and something out of one of those cheesy love stories Kakashi went with their advice.  
  
Since Iruka usually does all the cooking Kakashi would cook today. Since Iruka loves the smell of cinnamon Kakashi bought scented candles. Since Iruka is the uke Kakashi bought him two-dozen roses.  
  
Everything had an explanation with it, even if it wasn't a good one.  
  
Kakashi grabbed the food and one of Iruka's cookbooks so that he could start cooking. The cake needed three hours to bake but Kakashi didn't want to wait the long so he only put in half the ingredients and put it in for half the time.  
  
Kakashi then moved to the main course, which was going to be sweet and sour chicken since Iruka loved Chinese food. The only problem was the chicken was still alive and outside since Kakashi didn't want to bring it in the house and he had no idea what was in the sweet and sour sauce.  
  
After Kakashi but some lemon (the sour) and cherries (the sweet) together and made them into a lumpy sauce he admired his work and set out to conquer the chicken part.  
  
A lot of running around the yard trying to catch the chicken and a Fire Ball no jutsus later, Kakashi walked into the house with very burnt chicken. He stumbled into the kitchen trying not to make a mess with the chicken and threw it into a pot.  
  
Well now that that part was done he could move on to the candles. Kakashi cleaned off the table and set it up with a few candles and lighted them as he placed the food (while not very good looking but still food) on the table and grabbed the roses.  
  
He walked to the sink so he could trim the roses but ended up slipping on something in the floor taking the roses and some of the extra cake-mix down with him. As the powder from the flour settled Kakashi looked up to see all of the roses destroyed and decided to separate the peddles from them.  
  
Kakashi was about to head to the sleeping Iruka when he smelt something and realized he had left the cake in the oven for well over the needed time. He opened the oven to see fire come out as he did a few hand seals.  
  
"Water Dragon Missile no jutsus!"  
  
Kakashi stared at the mess in front of him. Water was dripping from the ceiling and everything that was once edible in the kitchen now was nothing but mush on the ground. Well he still could make chocolate!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka opened his eyes slowly as he stretched he looked outside to see it was already nearing dark. How long had he slept?  
  
Iruka was about to jump up and check when he looked around the room to notice he was surrounded by rose petals and a few candles. He looked around to see Kakashi smiling at him right beside him on the bed.  
  
"Kakashi?"  
  
"Happy Valentines Day Iruka-koi!" Kakashi smiled as Iruka looked at him in shock.  
  
Iruka looked around the room and his face paled. He had totally forgotten about this! He should have never gone to sleep!  
  
"Kakashi I......" Iruka was about to say something but Kakashi interrupted him.  
  
"Love me right? I hope this wasn't too corny and all but in the end I couldn't help myself!" Kakashi's smiled dropped when Iruka started crying. "Iruka.........are you okay?"  
  
"I AM THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!" Iruka threw his face in the pillow and started to beat his head against the bed. "I TOTALLY FORGOT!"  
  
"No way!" Kakashi smiled. "I out did you? This is perfect!"  
  
Iruka glared at his laughing lover and hit Kakashi.  
  
"No this isn't perfect!" Iruka sighed before he noticed Kakashi was wet and had Band-Aids all over his hands. "What happened?"  
  
"Here try some of my chocolate! I made it too!" Kakashi ignored the question and handed Iruka a small dish with heart chocolates.  
  
Iruka glared at Kakashi for ignoring the question but did what he was told and grabbed on of the hearts. It looked really good and edible which surprised Iruka since he didn't think Kakashi could cook. Iruka took a bite only bite into something harder than cement.  
  
"Ow!" Iruka put the chocolate down and smiled at Kakashi. "It's like cement!"  
  
"Really?" Kakashi was about to bite into one when he thought about it and decided just to take Iruka's word.  
  
Iruka gave Kakashi a huge hug before he sniffed the air. Since when did his house smell like smoke? Kakashi seemed to have noticed Iruka's change in facial expressions and sniffed the air only to think about it for a second before jumping up and running to the kitchen.  
  
"Crap!" Kakashi yelled as Iruka ran to the kitchen to see his table on fire.  
  
"What? Kakashi!" Iruka ran to the sink to get some water when Kakashi grabbed a bottle of something that looked like Champaign and opened it. "Kakashi don't put that on the fire!"  
  
BOOM!  
  
"Whoa!" Kakashi looked at the kitchen that would need remodeling to see Iruka crawl out of the rubble glaring at him.  
  
"My table..." Iruka stared at the ashes that used to be that table. "That table belonged to my parents........."  
  
"I'm sorry!" Kakashi suddenly started to panic when Iruka glared at him.  
  
"You are no longer allowed to cook anything in this house! I don't care if you have all your heart in the thought or even if it's for me! You are not allowed in this kitchen to cook!" Iruka yelled trying to dust himself off before he sighed. "But thanks for the nice thought anyway."  
  
"Here I'll help clean." Kakashi stood up and went to the bathroom to get the cleaning supplies. Some Valentines Day.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hey Hitomi...........do you want to tell them or should I?" Gai smiled as the walked up to Iruka's house.  
  
"Let's both tell them!" She smiled as she looked at the ring on her finger. "I'm so happy!"  
  
They walked up and Gai knocked on the door for it to be answered by an out of breath disgruntled Iruka wearing an apron and holding a spatula.  
  
"Hey Iruka we have exciting n...." Gai didn't finish his sentence as Iruka glared at him and hit him with the spatula.  
  
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Iruka glared at both of them.  
  
Gai looked at the sky to guess it was probably around midnight-ish. Gai looked back in the house to see Kakashi on the ground out of breath and the kitchen looked destroyed, but the only thing that you could really notice was the wet ceiling and the ashes that was once the kitchen table.  
  
"Wow Iruka you boys look exhausted! Don't tell me you guys have been doing a little hanky panky!" Hitomi laughed before Iruka swatted her with the spatula.  
  
"Go to your room!" Iruka ordered her as she giggled and walked away waving bye to Gai who just smiled at Iruka.  
  
"What Iruka you are the perfect picture of youthfulness! Never forget your dreams and remember your still young so live life!" Gai did a few poses before Iruka hit him with the spatula again.  
  
"Hey Mom! Can I come out now?" Hitomi yelled from her room causing Iruka to blush once he caught on to what he looked like.  
  
"Mom? I guess I need to ask for your permission then." Gai smiled as Iruka looked at him confused. "Hitomi's rented parent at Konoha is just the same at her homeland! Mrs. Fake-Sagara I would like permission to marry your daughter!"  
  
"What?" Iruka looked at Gai who just nodded.  
  
"We are going to get married!" Hitomi yelled from her room causing Kakashi to look sit up and look at Gai.  
  
"Really?" Kakashi gave Gai a questioning look before Gai nodded.  
  
"Yes my rival! I have purposed! I have found the woman I want to be with for the rest of my life! I love Hitomi Sagara!" Gai did a few poses and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm so happy!"  
  
"I love you too!" Everyone heard Hitomi yell from her room.  
  
"But isn't this kind of soon?" Kakashi looked at his rival who just shook his head.  
  
"Love knows no bounds my friend! And time is included in that!" Gai hugged Iruka before he walked in the house.  
  
"Really?" Kakashi smirked. "Hey Hitomi what is Gai's last name?"  
  
There was a moment of silence followed by a few sweat drops before Hitomi guesses.  
  
"Ninja?" Kakashi smiled as he made his point but Gai just shook his head.  
  
"I don't care what you think Kakashi! I love her."  
  
"I'm happy for you guys!" Iruka smiled as he went over to Kakashi. "Your rival is getting married!"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Well today was interesting." Iruka cuddled himself into Kakashi's arms.  
  
"I'm sorry about ruining Valentines Day for you." Kakashi muttered sleepily.  
  
"What? You didn't ruin it! In fact I think this was the best Valentines Day I have ever had!" Iruka kissed Kakashi and squeezed him.  
  
"Really?" Kakashi looked down at his lover.  
  
"Hai! Because no one has ever put that much thought into buying a present for me." Iruka smiled as Kakashi smiled at him.  
  
"So you don't mind about the kitchen?"  
  
"No you're still not allowed to cook anymore." Iruka glared at him playfully as Kakashi pouted.  
  
Iruka tightened his grip on Kakashi and relaxed his body. He wanted to make sure he would wake up with Kakashi next to him in the morning. Kakashi played with the chunins hair for a while before he felt Iruka go to sleep.  
  
Kakashi smiled a bit as he rolled over so that he was on top of the sleeping chunin and smiled as he started to kiss Iruka. Tonight was Valentines night why bother wasting it by sleeping.  
  
"Kakashi." Iruka murmured as he started to wake up. "I was having a nice dream."  
  
"Hai, but I will guarantee this is so much more better than a dream." Kakashi kissed Iruka again as a blushed formed on Iruka's cheeks.  
  
"I bet so too." Iruka smiled before Kakashi kissed him again. Now that Iruka was awake time for fun.  
  
Kakashi pulled off his shirt and started working Iruka's as the smaller teen gasped when Kakashi bit Iruka's bottom lip.  
  
"What was that for?" Iruka pouted moving his hands to his lip.  
  
"That's what you get for not wearing a button shirt. You know how hard it is to take these shirts off you?" Kakashi pulled Iruka's shirt off roughly then smiled. "Why don't you just start sleeping shirtless from now on?"  
  
"If I don't sleep with a shirt I could catch a cold, it gets pretty cold here you know." Iruka sat up and kissed Kakashi shyly, Kakashi was giving him one of 'those looks' and it made Iruka's face flush as he tried kissing Kakashi again.  
  
"I guess I don't want you getting sick." Kakashi mumbled seeing Iruka grin.  
  
Kakashi ruffled Iruka's hair and received an indignant glare from the chunin before he pushed Iruka back down on the bed. Iruka pulled Kakashi down with him as they kissed. Kakashi letting one of his arms hold him up so he could position himself while letting the free one works it's way to the tie on Iruka's pajama pants.  
  
After about three minutes of struggling with clothing and Iruka falling off the bed after Kakashi had tickled him both boys were back under the covers staring at each other. Kakashi was on top of Iruka as he kissed Iruka one more time noticing how the chunin had tensed he looked at Iruka.  
  
"Iruka are you........"  
  
"I'm fine Kakashi its just................it hurts when we.............but I still want...............I mean............" Iruka was now blushing as looked at Kakashi who was just waiting.  
  
"If it hurts too much we don't have.............."  
  
"No it doesn't hurt. No wait I mean it does but only for a little while and I uh........." Kakashi sighed. He didn't want to hurt Iruka but they had already done this a few times so why was the chunin bringing it up now. Was Kakashi supposed to stop? Did Iruka want to stop?  
  
Iruka seemed to have notice Kakashi's thought because he suddenly pulled the jounin into a very passionate kiss. Kakashi looked at him surprised and smiled as Iruka blushed. Kakashi was about to say something when Iruka kissed him again and the smaller teen wrapped his legs around the jounin's waist.  
  
Kakashi was a little doubtful now, as he looked Iruka over. The teen was so moody sometimes. Was he supposed to stop or did Iruka want to continue or were they just going to sit like that all night? Iruka looked at Kakashi and whispered a small embarrassed laugh as Kakashi just stopped moving.  
  
"You don't have to plan your actions like this is a battle you know." Iruka poked the still boy above him finally getting Kakashi's attention. "I love you."  
  
Kakashi smiled and kissed Iruka softly before moving to the neck as Iruka gasped with a small blush on his face.  
  
"I love you too Iruka-koi."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Well I hope you enjoyed version two of chapter 12!!  
  
Next chapter: What do you mean Kakashi? Hitomi needs to go back to her village to give them the big news! Gai why do you look so sad? Who are those strange ninja and Hitomi what are you doing? I Didn't Do It For You.  
  
Well I hope you guys aren't too disappointed that I didn't put this one out on Valentines Day but you know how the thing goes! I am finally getting used to my braces and all that good stuff so now I just have to clean them out after I eat! (Realizes you didn't need to know that and smiles)  
  
Oh and I would like to make honorable mention of a fic I have been reading.  
  
Kyubi-Naruto's 'The Band' – this is not yaoi or shonen-ai but I think it is really funny and enjoyed the story thus far! Plus the author is a pretty cool guy and you have to give credit where credit is due.  
  
And for all those who just happen to enjoy the writing belonging to RukaIay LomperGay....... she is currently sick with strep throat, writing three other fanfictions, bothering me, and drawing a manga for the Tokyo pop contest so please have some patience with my twin and if you don't I could always tell you where she lives and ya'll could take action Hehehe  
  
Just kidding and now for the reviews!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Reviews'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Silver Neo: Of course your reviews are loved! Well I hope your muses stop giving you those stares and actually get to work I know it can be hard to update your story without a muse and school work on top of that! I figured I should try and reach the characters flaws around now-ish because Iruka is driven by his emotions more so than Kakashi who seems the relaxed yet dangerous type. Kakashi is also very possessive over his Icha Icha book so I figured he would be possessive with other things too.  
  
Renn: I love Gai too I mean at first I didn't but he's the kind of character that warms up to you ya know! Even though he isn't one of the primary characters of this fiction he does have a major role in the characters lives and in next chapter he has a big part so if you like him you will at least be able to enjoy him for another chapter.  
  
Sausweet: Sadly I will not right a lemon for this story but don't worry if you really want to read a lemon by me then you'll just have to wait till when I finish this story so I can post other stories (several at once because I am writing them right now) and some might have lemon and some might not it just depends on the story.  
  
Kalong-chan: Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to do so! I am glad you enjoyed last chapter and the rest for that matter so just keep telling me hoe you feel and I hope you are having a great week.  
  
Otus: sadly this fic is not a lemon but don't worry I might write a lemon for this couple for another story and all that jazz so just be patient for that stuff lol. I'm glad you like the pretty KakaIru *only says pretty b/c you did* and thanks for the huggle it's not everyday I get huggled by someone so thanks *I think*  
  
Thanks for the reviews and I hope everyone is having a great month!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`' ``'`'`'`  
  
Please Review! 


	13. I Didn't Do It For You

I added/changed some stuff in chapter 12 mainly I rewrote that "three weeks later" thing and added stuff at the end so you guys just might want to know  
that!  
  
I do not own Naruto or anything else pertaining to Naruto and Kishimoto- sensei's works but I do own my original characters for that matter but then again why bother taking credit for a character that doesn't really exist except for in this story.......................but then again this is a pre-Naruto fanfic thus these character's could have been real and you just don't know it...................yeah  
  
This is chapter 13! And today March 7, 2004 is my birthday! And I turn 17! Woohoo!!  
  
Here are the replies to my reviews before the story begins:  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`REPLIES'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Hari-chan: I'm sorry it took so long to update but I hope you enjoy this longer chapter as a gift to all you guys on my birthday!  
  
YANAGI KOUTAROU: Thanks I really enjoy writing this fic so I'm glad to see people enjoy reading it especially when they threaten me when I don't update! *smiles at Hari-chan*  
  
DarkDemonMaster: Thanks for reviewing and I don't think anyone has problems with long chapters!  
  
shadoewhunter: I'm glad that this story is the reason you put up a KakaIru desktop! I wish I could put one of those up but I share my computer with my brothers who don't really like the pairing but then again they don't really like Naruto...............*realizes the reason she doesn't get along with her brothers*  
  
Megagirl14045: I have continued so I hope you keep enjoying it!  
  
Silver Neo: Oh my friend how I always enjoy your reviews immensely! I hope your mom doesn't send to one of those special doctors because you were laughing at the computer.........my mom has threaten to that a few times *laughs*! Well I hope you enjoy this next chapter too!  
  
Hikari of Darkness: I'm glad you like and I will keep updating as soon as I can even if it takes a while I will do my best!  
  
Renn: I'm glad you are half way free from your braces but four years?? I only have to have mine for a year and a half, which is really good because that means only the beginning of my freshmen year in college! Well I hope you are too disappointed in this chapter if you are truly that happy for Gai and Hitomi so that is my only warning!  
  
Sausweet: I rewrote the "three weeks later" tidbit in chapter 12 and added stuff at the end so make sure you reread it! I am sorry about straying form the plot and the rating and I hope that this chapter isn't disappointing either and I also hope you enjoy the scene that you asked for because I put the Hokage asking Iruka about his relationship with Kakashi in here so enjoy!! And I love the fact that you review twice because that means you some back to say more!!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`' ``'`'`'`  
  
Enjoy!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Chapter 13: I Didn't Do It For You  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
No one ever questions why something good happens to them. They don't try to understand or find out why; they only go with the flow and live on contently. That is until something bad happens.  
  
Why is it that we as humans are easier to question when something goes wrong than when something goes right? When someone is diagnosed with an illness usually the first question that pops into people's heads is why? When something is lost of great value no one just continues on like nothing happens they always take a moment to ask why they lost it? Why can't it be found? Why them?  
  
And when someone dies...............no matter who the person is the people who was left behind always ask why?  
  
The teenagers dressed in black by a river watch their friend light a candle and place it in a boat to be set of in the current of the waters, they ask why did this happen to him?  
  
The smaller teen with a scar across his face cries as he holds his lover torn between the death of a friend and the safe return of another.  
  
The silver haired teen allows his lover to cry because he is unable to. He watches his closest friend put the boat into the water and is torn between guilt and sadness.  
  
As the teen places his candle with a boat in the river representing what he lost he cries. He doesn't notice how the clouds have rolled in as the boat makes its way down the river and out of his life. All he can do now is ask why. Why did it happen? And why couldn't he have been there to stop it?  
  
All the teens stand there watching the light fade off in the distance not noticing the fact that it has been raining all day and not caring that the sun will come out tomorrow.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Good morning Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled as he entered the Hokage's office and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the busy man.  
  
"Good morning Iruka how are you doing today?" The Hokage pulled the pipe out of his mouth and took a break from the scroll he was writing to avert his attention to the young teen in front of him. "I hear Hitomi is leaving today to return to her village to give them the big news."  
  
"I'm doing good and yeah she is really excited but I'm starting to get annoyed about how her and Gai are all over each other all the time. I mean me and Kakashi don't act like that and well.................we've been together.......................longer and stuff." Iruka blushed shyly as he thought of Kakashi.  
  
"So how is your relationship going with Kakashi?" The Hokage smiled as Iruka's eyes widened and then the teen's face grew a very deep red color. "I take it by your response very well then?"  
  
Iruka nodded as the Hokage laughed. Iruka was always so bashful when it came to certain things and that just made the boy seem more innocent towards the world, and the Hokage for one wanted that innocence to remain.  
  
"Hey Iruka I was wondering how you felt about Gai and Hitomi's engagement?" The Hokage looked over the scroll that was in front of him before looking back at Iruka.  
  
"Oh! Well I am very happy for them. Kakashi was telling me last night that he thought they were moving a little quick but he was still happy for Gai." Iruka smiled with a small blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Last night?" The Hokage gave Iruka one of those 'just-got-caught-sneaking- out-of-the-house-at-night' looks.  
  
"Oh.........well........." Iruka blushed as he looked down. How do you tell the closest thing to a parental figure in your life that you have a lover at the age of 15?  
  
"What is your relationship with Kakashi in one word?" The Hokage raised an eyebrow as Iruka's face turned a deep crimson and the chunin refused to make eye contact. "Iruka you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just being curious."  
  
Iruka gave a small sigh. He didn't have to tell the Hokage because well his personal life wasn't the Hokage's responsibility unless it would affect missions or the village, but then again the Hokage was always there for him even when his parents were alive. The Hokage was probably something remotely close to a favorite grandfather Iruka thought but being in a ninja profession centered village not many children got to see their grandparents long.  
  
"Iruka?" The Hokage snapped Iruka back into reality as the chunin realized he had gone off in his own world.  
  
"Oh sorry Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled as the Hokage nodded back. "I guess I would say we are lovers."  
  
The Hokage dropped his pipe on his desk and stared at the surprised boy. Iruka hadn't been expecting that reaction, he didn't know what reaction he was expecting, but Iruka knew he wasn't expecting that one.  
  
The Hokage just stared at Iruka for a few moments before regaining his composure and relighting his pipe.  
  
"You're only 15." The Hokage stated as he smoked his pipe.  
  
"Yeah I know." Iruka smiled shyly as he rubbed the back of his head.  
  
"Well just make sure your ready Iruka. That's the only advice I can give you, a ninja's life is never predictable and to get so close at such a young age.........."  
  
"I'll be fine Hokage-sama." Iruka interrupted the Hokage with a small grin and bow. "I might be young but I know the world and I know the chances I take."  
  
The Hokage did a small nod as he held his pipe. Iruka was always mature for his age but the Hokage still didn't want the boy to get hurt.  
  
"I love Kakashi and that's what really matters right Hokage-sama?"  
  
"You are right Iruka-kun." The Hokage smiled at the young teen as Iruka did a bow and headed out of his office.  
  
Maybe Iruka was right and love was all that mattered, but at the same time the Hokage couldn't help but feel a little worried about the boy, but then again he worried about everyone in his village.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"I love you!"  
  
"I love you too!"  
  
Iruka and Kakashi sighed as they tried to break the couple off each other.  
  
"I can't wait to tell my family about you." Hitomi squealed in joy as she kissed the blushing Gai another time.  
  
"I wish I could go with you." Gai hugged her as the couple embraced each other.  
  
"Can you please hurry guys, I am only taking this small escorting mission because you asked me to Gai but I swear if you waist anymore of my time I'll let someone else take her." Kakashi growled as he looked at the sun. They were already three hours behind schedule and Kakashi was never to fond of spending more time than he had to with Hitomi.  
  
"Be safe Kakashi." Iruka whispered to the jounin with a small blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Not you too Iruka?" Kakashi complained afraid that the boy would start in the drama. "Guys we will be back in one week, this is a simple trip to a peaceful village."  
  
"Your right Kakashi." Gai smiled. "Thanks again for doing this favor for me."  
  
"Your welcome now can we please go before the sun goes away!"  
  
"Oh I forgot something!" Hitomi jumped up and grabbed Iruka by the arm. "I left my scarf at your house can we go get it real quick?"  
  
"Sure, we'll be right back ok!" Iruka grabbed Hitomi's hand and took off running in the other direction. It wouldn't take more than five minutes by how fast they were moving.  
  
Gai and Kakashi stood there in silence for a while until Gai jumped back in a fighting stance and grinned at Kakashi.  
  
"You want to have a quick round?" He struck a few poses as Kakashi shook his head.  
  
"I will face you right when I get back." Kakashi waved his hand at Gai and curved his only visible eye.  
  
"Thanks again for escorting Hitomi, I know you would rather be doing other stuff while you have the time off." Gai smiled as Kakashi just nodded. "I really appreciate this I mean I wish I could go but the Hokage said he wanted to go over some things while Hitomi was talking to her family and..........."  
  
"Gai it's cool, don't worry I understand and plus I think I owe you a few favors right?" Kakashi sighed as his rival broke into tears and struck a pose.  
  
"You are so cool Kakashi! And that is why you are my rival!"  
  
"Yeah yeah." Kakashi looked up at the sky. What was taking Iruka and Hitomi so long?  
  
"I know she will be safe as long as you are escorting her." Gai smiled as Kakashi gave him another glance. "Please be careful though I mean there are rumors of criminals wandering around so........."  
  
"Gai it's going to be fine! You said it yourself she will be safe and I will protect her so don't worry! I'm a jounin so relax! This is a simple mission that even a genin could do." Kakashi sighed in annoyance until he saw Iruka and Hitomi. "They're back."  
  
"Sorry it took so long." Hitomi did a small bow towards no one in particular and then smiled at Iruka. "Thank you once again Iruka-kun. If it wasn't for you I would never of been able to be this happy, I will find a way to repay you for this one day even if I spend the rest of my life waiting for the opportunity I will repay your kindness."  
  
"It's okay Hitomi seriously. I don't need anything in return just make sure you and Kakashi have a great trip and come back soon okay." Iruka smiled as Hitomi nodded and turned around to give Gai one last hug and kiss before they left.  
  
Iruka and Gai waited till the gates closed and then turned around to go on with the day. Kakashi and Hitomi walked into the forest not really talking just enjoying the silence as the past out of the safety of Konoha.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Soooooooo..............." Hitomi sighed as she watched Kakashi set the fire for camp.  
  
"So?" Kakashi gave a defeated sigh and started the fire before Hitomi let out another loud sigh annoying Kakashi enough to glare at her. "What?"  
  
"Why are you so anti-social?" Hitomi glared back as Kakashi ignored her and returned to working the fire. "Are you always like this?"  
  
Kakashi sat back against a tree trunk and watched the fire he had built consume the wood with a small smirk on his face. He was proud of his work.  
  
"I have no idea what Iruka sees in you.........." Hitomi mumbled loud enough for Kakashi to hear as she crawled into her sleeping bag.  
  
Kakashi just paused for a moment before he let out a small chuckle causing Hitomi to turn over a look at him with a confused expression on her face.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"I have no idea what he sees in me either." Kakashi smiled under his mask as he rested his head against the tree.  
  
There was a small moment of silence before Hitomi sat up a bit and stared at him from the other side of the fire.  
  
"How did you two get together?"  
  
"Hn?" Kakashi stared at Hitomi confused for a second. Was she trying to make conversation?  
  
"I wanted to know how you two got together." Hitomi stated again as Kakashi grinned under his mask.  
  
"I guess in a way I fell for him as I watched him grow older even though I am only three years older but then jealousy............a lot of jealousy helped the whole situation." Kakashi shrugged and then looked at Hitomi in till their eyes were locked. "It was more of fear on my part."  
  
"Fear?" Hitomi stared at him in disbelief, didn't this guy have one at least one romantic bone in his body? "Fear as in not love? Fear and jealousy...........Geez I swear Kakashi you have a way with words."  
  
"Well you asked and it's not like it was all jealousy and fear, no, love was there and that's what was to be afraid of." Kakashi looked up at the stars and smiled. "You know it might have been a long time ago but I was scared that day, and I am still scared whenever I see Iruka."  
  
"Scared?" Hitomi didn't try to hide the doubt in her voice as she laid back down in her sleeping bag. "Why are you scared Kakashi-san?"  
  
There was a small silence as they listened to the noises of nature before Kakashi finally spoke up.  
  
"As a ninja............it's hard...........it's very hard to sincerely express your emotions. We as shinobi are train from the day we enter the academy that expression can be our downfall and we are never to show it but then what about love? Shinobi get married everyday in the Leaf and nothing is wrong but at the same time many shinobi don't get married because well..............well..."  
  
"They see it as a weakness?" Hitomi interrupted Kakashi showing him he still had her full attention.  
  
"Yeah." Kakashi watched how the starry sky slowly became covered in clouds. He didn't know if Hitomi was still waiting for him to continue but Kakashi wasn't one to open up so easily. Yeah he had already started somewhat of a conversation but that was just for his own musings.  
  
"Love doesn't make you weak ya know." Hitomi whispered interrupting the silence of the night before she yawned and made herself comfortable seeing as Kakashi didn't look like he was going to continue. "Love is the most powerful force in the world or so I've heard, so sometimes I think that love for a special someone can also make you stronger.* It isn't a weakness."  
  
"Heh." Kakashi smirked under his mask. Hitomi sounded a lot like Gai for a second maybe these two were made for each other.  
  
"Well?" Hitomi snapped Kakashi out of his musings as he looked at her.  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Do you think love makes you weak?" Hitomi sat up in her sleeping bag so she could look at him as he just sighed.  
  
Love?  
  
Such a strong yet meaningless word.............and yet how complicated is has gotten in these short few minutes of Kakashi's life.  
  
Anyone can say I love you.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the thought. He loved Iruka didn't he? Iruka loved him back right? But then why is there that voice at the back of his head complicating things? So what if they were so young right?  
  
Iruka was 13 when he confessed his love for Kakashi whom was 16 and returned the feelings. What if it wasn't love and just teenage hormonal attraction? Kakashi berated himself for ever doubting Iruka; the chunin never did anything unless his whole heart was there but what about Kakashi?  
  
What is love anyway?  
  
"You don't deserve Iruka and I mean that." The sharp tone caused Kakashi to look over Hitomi who was glaring at him.  
  
"Where do you get off saying that?" Kakashi replied harshly.  
  
"I'm just saying the truth, here I have given you several times to express what you truly feel about Iruka and every time you stall or have some disappointing answer. Where do you see your relationship with Iruka going? I mean seriously you've obviously haven't given it much thought." Hitomi plopped down on her bag and let out a huff trying to make her point.  
  
"Maybe your right about me not giving it much thought but I do care a lot about Iruka and would easily give my life up for him. I might not know where we will be in a few years but where we are now is fine with me. If we are together still in the future then way to go us right?" Kakashi spat out harshly remembering all the reasons he didn't like the girl on the other side of the fire.  
  
"Oh I am so sorry Kakashi-san." Hitomi said with sarcasm dripping off her voice then glared intently at Kakashi. "I know you CARE a lot about Iruka- kun but what about love? Do you love him is what I am asking and what is with IF? If you are together? Where you are now might be fine for you but what about Iruka?"  
  
"If Iruka isn't fine with our relationship than he can do something about it. This is none of your concern so could you please do me the favor and drop this subject?" Kakashi threw some wood into the fire and glared at her as she glared back.  
  
"Touchy aren't we Kakashi?" Hitomi sighed. "But you do make Iruka happy so I'll give you that because though I don't know Iruka as well as you do...."  
  
"No you don't." Kakashi spat out interrupting Hitomi.  
  
"Well as I don't...." Hitomi glared at Kakashi. "He is still someone who has been a great friend to me and I see the way he smiles when he's around you, like someone who is truly happy."  
  
Kakashi didn't say anything as Hitomi slowly went to sleep and the tension in the air died down. What was he doing? He didn't even try sticking up for himself in front of that girl. Maybe she was right.........maybe she had a point.  
  
Kakashi sighed and prepared himself for guard duty. He wondered what Iruka felt about their relationship?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Oh good morning Gai!" Iruka smiled and opened his door to let the jounin in. "What brings you here so early?"  
  
"I just figured I could come by since your house is on the way to Hokage- sama's." Gai did a small bow and smiled as Iruka smiled back.  
  
"Wasn't the Hokage going to go over some scrolls with you?" Iruka sat down at the table after he poured Gai some tea. He really enjoyed company whenever Kakashi was gone.  
  
"Yeah I had come across a few forbidden jutsus on my last mission and he just wanted me to clarify some things. And not to forget I have to get Hitomi's citizenship for the Leaf ready so we can get married without any problems of where I will be living."  
  
"Well it seems like everything is working out for the best don't you think?" Iruka was about to continue when they heard a small breaking noise coming form Iruka's bedroom. Both ninja were I there in a flash to see a picture frame had broken.  
  
"How weird." Iruka picked up the picture to see it was one of him, Hitomi, and Kakashi. (Gai was the person behind the camera.) "Why do you think it fell over?"  
  
"I don't know.........none of your windows are open and it wasn't an intruder because we both would have sensed it........." Gai thought about before he looked at the picture seriously. "Maybe it's a bad omen?"  
  
"A bad omen?" Iruka gave a small grin. "I think those are just things parents tell there kids about to keep the children in line whenever they see a crow or dead grass*."  
  
"Hitomi said that people just label the unexplainable as superstitions but that doesn't make it any less of a truth. This could have been an omen."  
  
"Let's not worry about it Gai, come on I still have tea in the kitchen." Iruka waited for Gai to leave the room before he turned the picture over to see he had been ripped in half between Hitomi and Kakashi. What could that mean?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi and Hitomi walked in silence for the rest of the next day in trip until Hitomi accidentally hurt her foot when she tripped over a root.  
  
"You didn't have to laugh." Hitomi mumbled as Kakashi wrapped some bandages around her ankle.  
  
"Well we were going to pull an all nighter and get to your village early in the morning but I guess we can camp here and just make it there tomorrow afternoon." Kakashi finished the bandaging and got up to unpack some of the camping stuff.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Why are you apologizing it's not like I've failed the mission?" Kakashi turned around to face her with a small grin under his mask. "We are just going to be a little late."  
  
"Not about that I mean I'm sorry I was so rude to you last night." Hitomi glared at him with a small blush on her cheeks. "You and Iruka are happy together and I hope I didn't say anything to make you think otherwise because I promised Iruka to repay his kindness and I don't plan on doing it by breaking you guys up."  
  
Kakashi lifted his hands up as if to show no harm. "No need to apologize, in fact I should thank you because you made me think about some things."  
  
Hitomi gave Kakashi a look of doom and laughed. "No don't worry me and Iruka are still together unless he chooses someone else but until then I still faithfully belong to him."  
  
Hitomi nodded and started helping setting up camp.  
  
"I'm going to go get some fire wood so stay here." Kakashi ordered as he walked off into the forest.  
  
Hitomi sighed as she looked around the camp. She wasn't some little kid that needed to be taken care of.  
  
Hitomi spotted three red water containers used for putting out the fire and crawled over to them. They were empty. Hitomi looked around and slowly stood up; her ankle was fine just a slight sprain but she could walk fine with a small limp. She picked up the three containers and headed in the opposite direction Kakashi had left in remembering he mumbled something about a stream not to far off in the west.  
  
Hitomi didn't walk too far until she heard the noise of running water and smiled. At least she was going to be of some use to Kakashi after all she would have to make a better friendship with the jounin since he was Gai's rival (a.k.a. best friend in her mind) and Iruka's boyfriend both of which were the closest people she knew at the leaf which in a few weeks would be her new home.  
  
"Hey pretty girl." Hitomi turned around quickly to see a man in a large coat smiling at her. He didn't have the traditional light shinobi garbs but she could tall he was a ninja by the headband he wore but for some reason there were markings on it.  
  
The man wore his headband around this forehead but had wild long hair that flew everywhere is seemed until it came to a messy ponytail in the back. He had very dark eyes and paint on his face of tears. He was wearing a large heavy black jacket that covered his whole body and almost his feet but Hitomi could see a few toes from under the shadows.  
  
"Hello." Hitomi did a small polite bow to the man. After all most of the shinobi she had ever met were very nice people if they weren't paid to kill you. The man gave a huge grin.  
  
"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" He chuckled lowly sending an uneasy chill down Hitomi's spine but she continued to be polite.  
  
"I am just getting some water for camp."  
  
"And with a hurt ankle?" The man clicked his tongue as he looked over her body.  
  
Hitomi trembled a bit. The man had noticed she was hurt even with the bandages covered up by her usual stockings. The man gave her a smug grin before he started to approach her but Hitomi backed away.  
  
"Why are you afraid of me?" The man laughed as Hitomi tried to hold back the tears that were coming. This man was scary and she didn't like how he was looking at her, maybe she should have listened to Kakashi and stayed at the camp.  
  
"If you don't mind sir I would really like to be left alone. I have to make it back to camp before my friend does." Hitomi turned around to head off for the stream to get the water when she ran into another man who had been standing right behind her.  
  
"Hello." The dark figured smiled at her as her eyes widened in shock. What was she going to do now?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Gai are you okay?" Iruka walked up to his friend who was looking very disturbed.  
  
"I'm fine Iruka-kun no need to worry." Gai gave a fake grin before Iruka frowned at him.  
  
"I know I'm not your best friend Gai but I am still a friend so if there is something troubling you then you should tell me." Iruka sat down next to Gai.  
  
"I know Iruka but you don't really believe in omens so..........." Gai trailed off as Iruka smiled shyly at him.  
  
"Actually Gai I do believe in omens it's just I didn't want to say anything yesterday because I was afraid you might get worried but don't worry Kakashi will keep Hitomi safe." Iruka patted Gai on the back ignoring the worried feeling that was rising up in his chest.  
  
"I know Kakashi will protect her it's just that...............that something weird happened this morning and now I can't seem to do anything without being scared that something has happened to them." Gai looked over at Iruka with a genuine scared expression. "Everything she had touched in my house broke, everything and that mean glasses, vases, furniture, even the sweater I let her barrow was found with a large rip through it."  
  
Iruka stared at Gai in disbelief. Everything she had ever touched?  
  
"The picture frame she bought be shattered and then the roses that she had dried for decorations looked more like dried popery, it's weird because I would have known if anyone had came into my house last night since I was there and no one did and then the fact that I didn't hear anything break..........."  
  
"Have you told Hokage-sama about this?" Iruka looked at his friend questionably.  
  
"No because what am I supposed to say? Hey Hokage-sama I don't think Hitomi is safe with Kakashi right now and I think that something might of happened because I have a lot of broken crap at my house?" Gai started to play with his hands subconsciously.  
  
"Well that's a start Gai." Iruka got up and pulled Gai over. "It's not like there is a major demand for missions right now so maybe the Hokage can send someone just to check or maybe find out if Kakashi has made it too Hitomi's village yet, I'm sure everything is fine but it would hurt to check right?"  
  
"Yeah Iruka your right." Gai stood up and headed for the Hokage's office after all there is nothing unusual about checking on your fiancé is there?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hitomi?" Kakashi was about five meters away from the camp and he already knew she was gone. He sighed in defeat as he made to the camp and threw down the logs.  
  
Kakashi noticed that the water bottles were gone so he assumed she had went to go refill them but maybe she needed some help because those bottles could get heavy after a while. Kakashi made his way into the woods silently and started to get disturbed.  
  
Kakashi looked at a tree that had slashing marks all up and down the tree that someone had to have made recently. Kakashi took off towards the tracks Hitomi had left as he noticed the slashings seemed to be following her as well.  
  
/ CRAP! /  
  
Kakashi climbed up a tree so he could get better seed jumping from the branches until he made it up to the river. His eyes widened in horror.  
  
Hitomi was trembling on the ground trying to cover up the parts of her clothing that had been ripped and she had blood running down her face to show that she had been beaten.  
  
Kakashi appeared in front of her ignoring the two men that were staring at him as he helped her stand up. Kakashi needed to get Hitomi out of this place before he started a fight where her life could be in danger.  
  
"Can you move? Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Kakashi whispered to her as she realized he was there.  
  
Hitomi gave a small smiled as she looked at him with some of the blood blocking her vision.  
  
"Yes I can move, I'm as okay as I look and besides getting banged up they didn't do.........anything to my body." She whispered back as her voiced cracked.  
  
Kakashi looked at her as she continued to shake on the ground and the glared at the two men. He couldn't move her without getting the risk of being attacked when they moved.  
  
"Hitomi stay here and don't move." Kakashi ordered as he prepared himself to fight.  
  
"Oi! Look here Saya-sama we have a hero, I think he has come to save the girl." The man with paintings on his face laughed.  
  
"Yes you are right Tama-san, and look at his headband he is from the Hidden Leaf. It's been a while since I have killed a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf." Saya laughed as Kakashi studied them.  
  
The two men were from the Hidden Waterfall which was a small shinobi village compared to the Leaf but not the weakest. Kakashi couldn't place it but there was something about the man Saya's description fit.  
  
Tama was first to attack, as Kakashi was able to counter every move without his Sharingan. This guy had to be a joke Kakashi decided as he took mention of the other man watching the battle smugly.  
  
With a kick to the side Tama went flying across the small river and into a tree as Kakashi turned to Saya.  
  
"I wouldn't fight Saya-sama if I was you." Kakashi ignored the beaten shinobi behind him and got ready to attack. "Saya-sama has a bad fetish with pain very bad."  
  
Saya..................and then it clicked.  
  
Kakashi stopped his attack and flipped over the dark ninja as his eyes widened. Saya was an S-class criminal for slaughtering a neutral village during the war. It was believe he tortured the women and children in front of their families right before he killed them off.  
  
Kakashi gritted his teeth as he thought of the best way to attack. As a jounin of the Hidden Leaf and a former ANBU it was his job to make sure he at least tried to fight this guy as long as he and Hitomi made it out alive in the end.  
  
With a quick flash that battle began and the man smiled as he pulled out a sword from under his jacket that Kakashi countered with a kunai. It didn't seem like anything was going anywhere besides a few cuts and scrapes on both parts before Kakashi pulled out his Sharingan.  
  
"Why if it isn't?!?!?" Saya stopped in his tracks with a smug grin on his face. "I knew that you were good Kakashi of the Sharingan eye but I must say your legends have disappointed me since you haven't beaten me yet."  
  
"But the fight had only begun." Kakashi replied coolly as he did a few hand seals.  
  
"WATER STYLE DRAGON MISSILE!"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka woke up to a loud crashing noise in his room as he jumped up from bed with a kunai in his hand. He noticed it was that picture again that had fallen and slowly crawled over it.  
  
Iruka had taped the picture together after it had ripped in half but this time a piece of glass was stabbing into it which was weird since the picture frame had fallen flat so how did the glass get like this? Iruka eyes widened as he saw where the glass was stabbing until he heard a noise outside and looked to see a crow fly off in the distance.  
  
Iruka trembled lightly as he stood up and quickly put on his shoes. He had to find Gai; this was getting to creepy especially since Kakashi hadn't made it to Hitomi's village yet. Iruka grabbed the picture and ran out of his door as he looked at it one more time.  
  
Hitomi.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi dodge another attack as he ran over to Hitomi and picked her up while running to the woods. He needed to rethink his plans; this wasn't going well at all.  
  
Hitomi cringed at the sudden pressure around her waist but didn't struggle or make it harder for Kakashi; she was already as useless as could be. She looked over at Kakashi to see blood pouring out from his arm and stomach. He must have gotten cut.  
  
Kakashi suddenly stopped and placed Hitomi on the ground where she could support herself with a tree. He sighed inwardly this wasn't supposed to happen! Why had he let his guard down?  
  
Kakashi ignored the pain in his stomach, as he made sure she was okay and then thought of a plan.  
  
S-class criminal!  
  
Saya was apparently only joking with him at first and as he battle heated up Kakashi found himself on the receiving end. If things didn't change soon they were going to.........  
  
Saya appeared from the trees slicing Kakashi's body in half only to watch it turn into smoke. The man smirked as he looked around. Where did they go?  
  
Kakashi checked on Hitomi one more time before he head towards Saya who was only a few yards away. As long as Hitomi stayed there she should be fine so if Kakashi failed this battle she would still have a chance to live.  
  
Kakashi ducked the sword as he kicked Saya in the stomach performing a few hand seals causing the leaves to wrap around the two figures.  
  
Hitomi opened her eyes slowly as her head hurt. She hadn't even realized Kakashi had put her down the way her head was spinning. She was so weak compared to the Leaf shinobi but then again she wasn't a ninja just a girl in love with one.  
  
Hitomi forced herself to look around her surroundings hiding the fear in her gut. She heard noise to the left of her and quickly moved herself closer to the tree so she could pull herself up and see what was happening.  
  
She watched as the leaves fell to the ground showing the figures fighting. Kakashi had blood all over his uniform and Hitomi started to tremble as she saw the red eye. That's why he always wore the headband tilted?  
  
Hitomi saw Kakashi go flying into a nearby tree as he received a kick to the stomach causing his blood to run faster. Her eyes widened as Saya appeared before him and swung his sword.  
  
"Kakashi!"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Gai!" Iruka ran into the watchtower as he saw his friend sign off from duty.  
  
"Hey Iruka is something wrong?" Gai face was serious as he saw how out of breath Iruka was. The chunin looked like he had been running all over town.  
  
"You need to come with me to the Hokage right now! Something happened!" Iruka yelled trying to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. "All I know is something bad happened with Kakashi and Hitomi. Apparently they Kakashi is at her village now!"  
  
Gai just nodded and took off for the Hokage's office as Iruka quickly followed.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi opened his eyes to see a small figure in front of him. It took him a second to register the cloths and the bloodied hair as he saw a sword sticking through the stomach.  
  
"Hitomi?" Kakashi whispered as he moved himself around to see Saya was stuck in her grip.  
  
Kakashi eyes widened as he saw Hitomi standing there holding on to Saya as the man's sword went through her.  
  
"Let go stupid woman!" Saya coughed up some blood as he tried to pull his sword out of her.  
  
"Don't hurt..........Kakashi." Hitomi gave a pained growl. "I don't want to see Iruka cry!"  
  
"What?" Saya glared at her but finally pushed her body away leaving him without a sword. "Stupid girl!"  
  
Kakashi watched Hitomi fall to the ground frozen. Not again! Not another person dieing for him!  
  
"You stupid teme!" Kakashi yelled as his Sharingan flared up and he charged the disgruntled Saya. "Why did you do that?" '`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hokage-sama Iruka and Gai-san are here to see you." An ANBU announced to the older man as the Hokage nodded allowing the entrance.  
  
The Hokage's eyes saddened as he watched the two friends enter. Gai not showing how he was feeling yet Iruka was trying to hide the fact he was worried but it seemed to only make it worse.  
  
"Hokage-sama? You asked for us?" Gai did a polite bow as the Hokage sighed.  
  
This was too sad for someone so young to go through even if the young man was a jounin and had seen many deaths this was a different level.  
  
"Gai-san I'm afraid I have some bad news." The Hokage did hide the somber expression in his eyes as he lit up his pipe and brought it up to his mouth.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hitomi hold still this is going to hurt." Kakashi said softly as he removed the sword causing her to scream in pain as tears rolled down her face. "Stupid girl you.........you........."  
  
"Saved your sorry butt." Hitomi cough as blood spilled from her mouth.  
  
Kakashi stared at the dieing girl in front of him. She was going to die, she had lost too much and the cut was too deep there was no way............Kakashi felt his eyes burn as he saw the ring still on her left hand. Gai.  
  
"Hitomi why?" Was all Kakashi could say. "Why did you save me?"  
  
"I didn't do it for you jerk." Hitomi spat out harshly trying to spit out the blood gathering in her mouth. "The last thing I thought............my last thought when I saw you were going to die was............that with you gone I would never see Iruka smile like that again. He has a great smile you know?"  
  
"But what about Gai? You need.........you have to stay alive Hitomi." Kakashi slowly tried to pick her up before her body tensed.  
  
"I love Gai." Hitomi let the tears roll down her cheeks. "But I owed Iruka for everything.............tell Gai I will watch him from the clouds please..............oh kami I loved him so much let him know that."  
  
"Hitomi you..........." Kakashi didn't finish his sentence as Hitomi's breathing slowly came to a halt. "Hitomi..."  
  
Kakashi sat there frozen in his spot at the still body in front of him. He looked over to the side to see the dead body of Saya not too far from them as his Sharingan flared. But there was nothing he could do, Saya was already dead and so was Hitomi.  
  
Kakashi made himself get up and pick her body up. He still had to take her to her village. He promised Gai he would.  
  
Gai.  
  
What was Kakashi going to do? He had failed Gai.  
  
Kakashi only took Hitomi's stuff with him and Saya's head as proof the criminal was dead. Another person had died protecting him in his life and it was someone who should never had done it.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he remembered Heidaki. Why were people so willing to die for him? Kakashi cursed at himself as he ran to Hitomi's village. He would probably get there in five hours at the pace he was going and so Kakashi sped up.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Kakashi?" Kakashi's body tensed as he heard the soft voice above him. "Kakashi?"  
  
"Hn?" Kakashi mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes so see Iruka over him with a small smile. "Iruka what are you-?"  
  
"Your back at the Leaf." Iruka tried to keep the small smile up. "You apparently passed out from Sharingan use when you made to Hitomi's village so Hokage sent some people to bring you back here so you could wake up at one of our hospitals."  
  
Kakashi stayed still as he heard the sad voice of Iruka. So Iruka and everyone knew now...........Kakashi squeezed the bed sheets that were over him before he quickly got up only stumbling a bit.  
  
"Kakashi? You need to stay down." Iruka tried to push the jounin back into the bed but Kakashi was quickly dressed and already heading out of the door before he could put up much complaint.  
  
Kakashi felt sick. His stomach was tightening up as he walked down the hallway. Hitomi was really dead and he was really back at the leaf. Kakashi turned the corner to see the one person he knew he wasn't ready to face.  
  
Gai was sitting down in a chair obviously worn out as he stared at the ground. Kakashi was stunned; if it wasn't for the fact of how the man was dressed Gai wouldn't have been recognized as Gai. He looked like a broken man.  
  
This made Kakashi's chest hurt. He had done this to his rival and it was his entire fault.  
  
Kakashi stuck his hands into his pockets as he tried to think of what to say when he felt a small circle. Kakashi pulled out the small item and stared at it.............it was Hitomi's ring.  
  
Gai was staring at the ground when he heard footsteps approach him. He sighed outwardly as he turned until he saw who it was. Kakashi was staring at him holding his hand out as if he had something to give Gai.  
  
Gai stood up and hugged Kakashi. He was glad his friend was okay. "Kakashi I..........."  
  
"I'm sorry." Kakashi interrupted Gai as he placed the ring in Gai's hands letting his rival see it.  
  
Gai stared at it before tears formed in his eyes and he just nodded at Kakashi before he turned and walked the other way.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
The three friends dressed in black finally get tired of the rain falling on their shoulders before the one who stood in the river turned around to face his two friends.  
  
The younger one tried to hold back tears the best he could while the other looked down at the ground in regret.  
  
Gai walked over to them until he was right beside Kakashi and looked at his friend who didn't bother looking back.  
  
"It's not your fault Kakashi." And with that Gai left the two friends as he walked home remembering his lost love.  
  
Kakashi just sat there for a few more minutes until it turned into hours and he noticed Iruka was still sitting with him though no longer crying. The chunin was going to get sick if they stayed out hear any longer.  
  
Kakashi got up and helped his lover up as they walked home together side by side. They both stared at the ground and just let the rainfall on their silent walk home not knowing what to say to the other.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
K-chan: *cries*  
  
P-sama: "dang it stop already"  
  
K-chan: *still crying*  
  
P-sama: "stop it stop it stop it"  
  
K-chan: *growing hysterical*  
  
P-sama: *sighs*  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
1st *: This is part of Gai's definition of love in chapter 7.  
  
2nd *: Crow usually meant death and certain doom of yourself or a certain loved one while if you found dead grass underneath you it meant that you were going to die.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Well?????? *waits for response* It was really hard to write this chapter believe it or not and the whole fighting scene was probably crap but I still hope you enjoyed it! It was weird writing this story too because I had read Azu Manga Daioh so was in a good mood and it's hard to write this kind of stuff in a good mood or so I thought because I was actually still in a good mood after I finished this....................yeah enough about that..............  
  
This chapter is longer than my usual chapters and I hope you enjoy that and I hope that everyone has a great week because I turned 17 today!!!! Woohoo!  
  
Well this chapter is kind of angsty so you know what that means!! Some really sad chapters are coming up even if they aren't the next chapter! This is the calm before the storm people!! *laughs* Okay well maybe not that bad because this chapter was really sad and I hated writing everyone so sad because it made me sad............well just a little bit but my twin almost drowned me in her tears.............sigh...........  
  
See you next chapter!  
  
Please Review!! 


	14. Icha Icha Nightmares

I do not own NARUTO!! *breaks out into tears and starts blubbering* The manga is so good!  
  
Okay well I know it has been awhile so I would like to take this moment to beg for your forgiveness.  
  
*p-sama7 gets on knees and presses forehead to index fingers* PLEASE FORGIVE ME! IF any of you need retribution then here *hands readers a dagger* Help me commit seppuku in which I will die with what authoress honor I have left but if I don't deserve any honor then hear *hands readers a gun* you may shoot my corpse until your anger is satisfied!  
  
Well in case any of you were wondering where I have been then I must tell you I was taking the SAT and study classes since my quarter was ending at school. Sadly I only got an 1130 on the SAT and that isn't enough for the college I plan to go to so I have to retake it *sigh* but I'm on spring break right now so I should be able to give you guys another chapter soon at least next week!  
  
I just saw the movie 'Millennium Actress' subtitled and I must say that you should all watch it. I hadn't ever heard of what the movie was about but I must say I really enjoyed and you guys should go to your nearest blockbuster or Hollywood video and rent it!  
  
No More wasting your time!  
  
Enjoy!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Chapter 14: Icha Icha Nightmares!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka glared at the little bright book he saw Gai buy at the bookstore. Oh how he recognized that book, that piece of filth he was exposed to at a young age.  
  
"Are you okay Iruka?" Gai looked amused at his shorter friend who just glared at his bag containing the newly purchased present for his rival.  
  
"Why are you buying that for him?" Iruka had a small blush on his cheeks before he noticed very familiar silver hair.  
  
"Because he is allowed to read it now!" Gai did a small pose before turned around to see Kakashi. "AHA! My rival, I see you have come to challenge me!"  
  
"Hn? Oh hey Gai I didn't see you there. Were you saying something?" Kakashi grinned under his mask as Gai gave him a look of indignation before the green beast turned around so he was no longer facing Kakashi.  
  
"I will let that one slide Kakashi because you are cool like that and that is what makes you my rival." Gai all but muttered to himself.  
  
"Hey Kakashi! Are you on a break?" Iruka smiled as he stood beside Kakashi with a small blush on his cheeks.  
  
"Actually I am here to retrieve you for Hokage-sama before I go on watch." Kakashi curved his visible eye as they left the bookstore.  
  
"Really? I wonder what he wants?" Iruka looked questionably at Kakashi who just shrugged and then smiled as he waved bye to Gai and headed towards the Hokage's tower.  
  
"Seesh you would think he would wait for me to go with him." Kakashi mumbled to Gai.  
  
"You better catch up." Gai pushed his rival forward with a small grin as if to challenge the silver haired jounin to push back but then just turned around and walked off as if he just remembered something important.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Good morning Hokage-sama." Iruka did a polite bow as the old man smiled at the young chunin.  
  
"Good morning Iruka. You seem to be in a good mood." The Hokage took a puff of his pipe before he turned around to that he could be facing the boy completely.  
  
"Yes I have been having a good week." Iruka sat down in front of the Hokage.  
  
"Well that is good to hear." The Hokage smiled as he watched Iruka wait for the reason to call this meeting.  
  
There was a moment of silence as the Hokage tried not to laugh as Iruka continued to wait patiently. This young man was blessed with a great amount of patience that's for sure is what the Hokage thought as Iruka gave the Hokage a doubtful glance.  
  
"Is there something you wanted Hokage-sama?" Iruka still had some things to buy for the party tomorrow.  
  
"Now that you mention it there is something I would like to ask you."  
  
"And?"  
  
The Hokage gave a small laugh, maybe Iruka wasn't as patient as he had thought but then there were many things about the boy he was learning everyday.  
  
"What do you plan on doing as a career in the near future?"  
  
Iruka stopped to think about the question. He had never really though about it...............what did he plan on doing. Iruka didn't really plan on becoming a jounin, not that it wasn't an option more just the fact that Iruka found himself with enough work as a chunin.  
  
Maybe he just planned on staying a chunin, nothing wrong with that idea.  
  
"I take it by your silence you haven't really thought of the idea but don't worry you're only fifteen no rush."  
  
"Y...yeah no rush." Iruka smiled as he put his hand behind his head. "Is that all you wanted Hokage-sama?"  
  
"Well I just wanted you to think about the idea of doing something else for a while, maybe you could come help me out with mission assigning and organizing all the reports. Since you are a chunin now, the help would be appreciated." The Hokage smiled as Iruka gave him a confused look.  
  
"What do you mean by something else? Hokage-sama if you wanted me to do that you could tell me so?"  
  
"No that's no the point Iruka. The point is to see what kind of career you will hold out in village." The Hokage smiled again as Iruka seemed even more confused.  
  
"But Hokage-sama I'm a shinobi..."  
  
"We are all shinobi Iruka-kun." The Hokage smiled as Iruka grinned at the statement before he nodded.  
  
"I think I know what you are talking about Hokage-sama." Iruka stood up. "I will see you this afternoon to help out with the mission assignments then, since I still have to run a few errands."  
  
"I have to be returning to my paperwork now so...."  
  
"Good bye Hokage-sama."  
  
"Good bye."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Here you go Kurenai-sensei." Iruka had a very large grin on his face as he handed Kurenai a few scrolls for the school.  
  
"What is with the grin Iruka-kun?" Kurenai drawled out the kun part as Iruka winced. "Aren't you happy about my new job at the school?"  
  
"Yes I'm sure you will make a great teacher Kurenai-sensei." Iruka looked over at all the students in Kurenai's class. "I'm sure the kids love you."  
  
"For some reason I don't think you are being very sincere right now Iruka- kun." Kurenai gave Iruka a doubting glance as he just smiled gingerly before she turned around and walked off with the scrolls. "See you around."  
  
"See ya."  
  
Iruka looked around the halls of the school one last time before he made his way out of the building. It had been awhile since he had been there and the school seemed to have a nice presence. Iruka made a mental note to visit more often until he heard Kurenai starting to give a lecture.  
  
Poor kids.........He remembered being dragged everywhere with her when she was his babysitter. But then again babysitting and teaching were very different. Babysitting you became like a substitute parent for a short while but in teaching you become another adult figure that will effect the lives of the students. You don't become a substitute parent in a way you become another parent watching out for your kids.  
  
"Welcome to earth Iruka." Iruka jumped as someone whispered in his ear and turned around to see Mizuki grinning at him.  
  
"Oh, it's just you."  
  
"Just me? Excuse you but I think you should so some respect because I could have killed you while you were zoning out there." Mizuki glared at his friend.  
  
"Ah but you didn't" Iruka smiled.  
  
"No I didn't." Mizuki repeated to see if Iruka had a point.  
  
After a moment of silence Mizuki sighed and looked Iruka over.  
  
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Mizuki watched as Iruka gave him a strange look.  
  
"Are you asking me out because...?"  
  
"No I am not asking you out you freak! I was just wondering because me and some friends are going to hang out and I thought you might want to come, unless of course you would rather hang out with what's his name and company?" Mizuki added the last part a little disdainfully as Iruka looked amused at his friend.  
  
"His name is Kakashi and I know you know it, and yeah that would be great." Iruka smiled as Mizuki just scoffed.  
  
"Well go to my house around eight okay."  
  
"Sure thing." Iruka watched Mizuki walked off before he headed towards the assignment room, now to help out Hokage-sama.  
  
The assigning room was full of people as Iruka's eyebrow twitched at the smug smirk in front of him.  
  
"And the scroll with C on it means that it is a C-class mission, did you catch that newbies? C-lass." The older chunin in front of Iruka grinned even wider as Iruka just waited for the right moment when he could hit the guy for being so rude.  
  
"Fukui-san is just teasing you kid don't take it personally." A friendly voice called out from behind the aforementioned 'Fukui'.  
  
"Thank you for this.........uh un-wasted lesson .......um Fukui-san is it?" Iruka made sure he added an emphasis on 'un-wasted' to get his point across as Fukui just grinned.  
  
"Ah Iruka glad you could join us." Hokage-sama appeared beside Iruka and placed his pipe in his mouth as he headed towards his seat.  
  
"Remember C equals C-class." Fukui whispered before Iruka rolled his eyes at him and followed the Hokage.  
  
"Kid has a sense of humor." The friendly voice laughed as Fukui sat near his friend.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
The silver blade stopped right by the neck of its prey as the wielder looked over the shinobi who had tried to enter Konoha. The shinobi had no headband, probably a rogue-nin thought Kakashi as the form by his blade trembled. Well he had orders to do and with that the figure fell limp on the ground before a group of Anbu appeared by the jounin.  
  
"I see Kakashi-san has found him before us." One of the masked members laughed quietly before the smaller figure turned its gaze towards them making the whole Anbu team silent.  
  
Kakashi watched in amusement as the smaller figure appeared to be the captain of this squad. The captain got one of his men to pick up the corpse before he looked at Kakashi.  
  
"Hatake-san." Kakashi could see the Sharingan wheels spin through the thin slits in the Anbu mask.  
  
"Itachi-san."  
  
"Hokage-sama asked us to retrieve you. You are to report to him immediately." Itachi spoke in his cold young voice as Kakashi did a small bow out of respect for the very young Anbu captain.  
  
"Yes, thank you." Kakashi disappeared and headed for the Hokage's office. Itachi was only 13 when he became an Anbu captain a few months ago, the kid was well..........shady in Kakashi's mind not that shady was an insult to a shinobi but there was something about Itachi that just didn't fit.  
  
Kakashi made it to the Hokage's office and noticed to his surprise the area seemed to be deserted. Kakashi opened up the Hokage's doors to see the older man wave at him and smile with the pipe between his lips.  
  
"Kakashi-san, how has your evening been?"  
  
"It has been good Hokage-sama." After a brief moment of silence Kakashi gave the Hokage his lazy glare. "And to what do I owe this meeting?"  
  
The Hokage nodded and pulled out a scroll where he appeared next to the jounin to hand it to the sliver haired ninja. Kakashi took it and did a small bow before he left.  
  
The Hokage always assigned different missions in different ways. Kakashi had soon caught on that if the Hokage did certain things while he was assigning it was like a warning to the shinobi what kind of mission it was. Whenever the Hokage handed the mission in the public assigning area it was nothing too serious but if it was privately done then the mission had a good chance of being life threatening.  
  
Kakashi took the scroll in his hand and set off. He better finish as soon as he could if he wanted to be in Konoha for his birthday.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"I bet five bucks." Mizuki smirked as he held his cards and all his friends looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"I'm in."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"I'm out."  
  
"What about you Iruka-kun?" Mizuki looked at his friend who was sitting across from him.  
  
"I guess I'm in." Iruka threw down some of the money he had saved and stared at his hand. Four of a kind was good, right?  
  
There was a moment of silence about the young chunins in the room before a red haired boy smirked and threw down his cards.  
  
"Ha! I have four queens."  
  
"Darn it! Waya-kun beat me again." The smallest of the boys threw his cards down and looked hopefully over at his companions to see if the would avenge his lost money.  
  
"Waya always beats you Kansu-aniki." The boy who had folded glared playfully at his friend who glared back.  
  
"Shut-up Kazui! Hey Iruka what do you have?" Kansu stared at the scarred chunin before Iruka smiled happily.  
  
"I have four kings! That means I win right?" Iruka smiled bigger until he heard laughter leave Mizuki's mouth.  
  
"Sorry guys but my flush beats your four of a kind Iruka." Mizuki threw his cards down and took the pot while everyone else sighed in defeat.  
  
"Mizuki stop picking on Iruka, you said so yourself he hasn't ever played poker before. Don't you think we should play a few practice rounds before we start betting?" Waya stated as Iruka blushed softly.  
  
"Geez! Never played poker before? And you are what...........15 now?" Kazui teased Iruka as the chunin just sighed.  
  
"Hey Mizuki, are you sure your parents don't mind us playing here while they are gone on a mission?" Kansu asked skeptically while Mizuki smiled.  
  
"Once I told them Iruka was coming over they didn't bother asking who else was coming." Mizuki laughed as Iruka just glared at him.  
  
"You mean I'm only here so your parents feel okay?"  
  
"No you are here because you're my friend and it'll make my parents feel okay." Mizuki grinned showing his teeth.  
  
"And because your bad at poker and let's face it Mizuki will always find the easiest way to get what he wants whether it be to have friends over at his house or to gain extra cash over the weekend." Kansu added bitterly.  
  
"Hey guys why don't we stop chatting like girls at a slumber party and help me pay for some new weapons I wanted." Mizuki threw out some cards from the deck and smiled.  
  
"Only a few more rounds okay." Iruka sighed.  
  
"Why? Aren't you staying here tonight?" Kansu asked.  
  
"It's not that Kansu-aniki." Kazui grinned. "Iruka is afraid to lose all his money to us."  
  
"I am not!" Iruka shouted indignantly.  
  
"Are too." Kazui grinned even wider.  
  
"I am not."  
  
"Are too."  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are too!"  
  
"Am no............."  
  
"What are you two? Little kids from the Academy? I swear my little sisters aren't this bad and they are only five." Waya interrupted his friends.  
  
"So Iruka are you in then?" Mizuki smiled at his friend who seemed to consider it.  
  
After a moment of hesitation Iruka nodded and the game began.  
  
Iruka looked at his wallet as everyone added money into the pot. He had about thirty bucks and then he had two hundred and twenty-three dollars in the change part. The thirty bucks was for spending cash on anything he wanted while the two hundred was for the present he was planning on getting Kakashi.  
  
// If I only spend my thirty here then I can get his present in the morning before he gets back from his mission.........//  
  
"I raise the pot ten dollars." Waya grinned proudly as everyone gave him a skeptical glance before adding in their cash.  
  
Iruka smiled at his cards as he thought of Kakashi's present. He was going to buy the jounin a katana he had gotten the Hokage to order for him from one of the snow villages. Iruka had seen it in a shop when he was on an escort mission and the blade was beautiful. It had a long blade with designs of clouds decorating the middle and the handle had a good grip. It would be the perfect gift for a Kakashi since the jounin always found a way to complain about his current sword around his birthday.  
  
"Hey Iruka, where is Kakashi-san? When you came over you said something about him being gone so you could stay the night." Mizuki put down three cards and three new ones from the deck.  
  
"Ah, yeah he went on a mission before I left." Iruka tried to hold down the blush he knew would come on his cheeks as he thought about Kakashi's goodbye.  
  
"So you two seem to be good friends..........." Kansu yawned as he traded some of his cards. "That must be cool living with the 'copy ninja Kakashi'."  
  
"Yeah, you could say we are good friends." Iruka laughed lightly as he held onto his three aces.  
  
"Oh!" Kazui jumped up all of the sudden causing everyone in the room to jump up as well.  
  
"What?" Kansu asked his little brother worry written on his face.  
  
"Oh sorry I just remembered something I wanted to ask Iruka the other day." Kazui laughed as everyone settled down and glared at him.  
  
"What do ya want to know Kazui?" Iruka asked.  
  
"Have you ever seen his face?" Kazui asked with much excitement while everyone looked at Iruka very interested.  
  
"Whose face?" Iruka asked innocently.  
  
"Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi's!"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi hid in between the abandoned buildings as he searched for the target.  
  
The mission seemed simple enough when Kakashi first looked at it. He was supposed to assassinate a man responsible for the murder of some diplomats to the commercial villages in the Fire country. But Kakashi soon found that this guy was nearly impossible to find.  
  
Then again the key word is nearly.  
  
Kakashi heard a faint noise of a few people talking as he finally found a glimpse of light that looked like a fire not too far off. He used his stealth to find himself directly over the fire in the shadows provided by and giant oak tree.  
  
Down on the ground was the target sleeping next to the fire while their appeared to be a woman sowing up holes in clothing. Kakashi narrowed his eyes to see some old shuriken fairly hidden by the woman as she continued to sow, oblivious to her watcher.  
  
So she is a shinobi guard, probably hired.........thought Kakashi as he jumped out of the shadows and directly in front of the woman.  
  
"I was wondering when you were going to show yourself." A sweet and yet bitter voice came out of the woman's lips, as she didn't even bother looking at Kakashi.  
  
"Ah." Kakashi nodded realizing she did sense him and he grinned under his mask. "Beautiful weather we're having isn't it?"  
  
The woman tensed and stared at Kakashi with wide eyes.  
  
"W...wait..........." The woman paused and jumped to her feet weapons in hands. "You Copy Cat ninja Kakashi!"  
  
"Oh?" Kakashi was interested and how she came to that conclusion just by him asking her a simple question, not that the conclusion was wrong.  
  
"But.........why are you here?" The woman asked as if she was very confused.  
  
Kakashi didn't say anything and just looked over at the sleeping man causing the woman to follow his eyes. This was getting tiring maybe he should have just knocked her out cold and taken care of the job so he could go home.  
  
"Well if that's the reason then I'm afraid we have to fight........." The woman sighed as she got in a lazy fighting stance.  
  
"Very well." Kakashi nodded as he prepared to get through her in no time.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka hit his head on the table. How did this happen? Since when was gambling so cruel! Iruka stared at his empty wallet. It was just a simple game so then how could it get addicting? Before Iruka knew it he had lost all of his money................including the money he was supposed to pay the Hokage tomorrow for the katana.  
  
"Iruka are you ok?" Waya asked as he sat next to Iruka. "I lost all my money too."  
  
"But I have to get it back." Iruka muffled into the table before he looked at Waya. "I have to get back three hundred and twenty three dollars or I am in big trouble tomorrow."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I owe the Hokage that money........." Iruka muffled off again before Waya looked at him in all seriousness.  
  
"You bet money you owed the Hokage? The leader of our village, the man who is in charge of everything.........you bet his money?" Iruka just nodded in desperation.  
  
"Well then you better go win it back!" Waya pulled Iruka up and took him into the room with Mizuki, Kansu, and Kazui.  
  
"I thought you guys lost all of your money?" Mizuki laughed.  
  
"We did but we have to win it back or more so Iruka has to win his money back because technically it wasn't his!" Waya shouted as everyone stared at him.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The majority of the money Iruka lost was actually the Hokage's!"  
  
"And what do you want me to do? Give it back to him even though I won it?" Mizuki glared at them.  
  
"No Mizuki not give it back, but let him win me win it back." Iruka sat pleadingly by Mizuki.  
  
"But how can you win it back if you don't have any money?" Mizuki watched with sustained pleasure, as Iruka seemed to be lost.  
  
"I dunno............"  
  
There was a moment of silence before Kansu coughed getting everyone's attention.  
  
"How about Iruka has to do something to earn it or something...........maybe you could make him do something tonight that would benefit you and he would just have to pay you back the money later." Kansu nodded at his own idea.  
  
"As in it is like I am paying Iruka to do something, anything I want............and he will just have to pay me back later............" Mizuki smirked and nodded.  
  
"And you know I always pay people back if I owe them anything! I even gave you back the nickel you let me barrow in the ninja academy!" Iruka added in hope to sway Mizuki.  
  
"Well Iruka, since you are my friend then I guess this is okay. But remember you still have to pay me back since I did win it." Mizuki nodded and handed Iruka back the money he needed.  
  
"If you were his friend why not just give it back and not make him repay you." Kazui mumbled and sighed as no one heard him.  
  
"So what do I have to do?" Iruka waited for Mizuki to tell him to clean the house or something.  
  
"You have to jump into Laden Lake." Mizuki grinned as Iruka looked at him confused.  
  
"But the lake is below freezing! It's November!!" Iruka shouted but Mizuki just shook his head.  
  
"Your right Iruka..." Mizuki put his forefinger on his chin as if he was thinking.  
  
"So I don't have to do it?" Iruka asked hopefully.  
  
"No, you still have to jump in but in order for my to gain something from this you have to jump in without any cloths."  
  
"WHAT?" All the guys in the room yelled as Mizuki laughed.  
  
"Yep, that's what I want now lets go guys!" And with that Mizuki left being followed by his friends as Iruka tried to think of some way out of this but he had already agreed.  
  
Laden Lake was located in the forest near the border of Konoha. Iruka and his friends used to play here every winter before they became chunin. There was a small wooden dock in the middle of the lake the kids would jump off of during the summer when the cool water was appreciated.  
  
One of the mysteries surrounding the Lake was that the water was always cold and yet it was located by a hot spring. Not that that was going to help Iruka right now since he would have to jump into a below freezing Lake.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi slowly strolled back into Konoha as he looked up at the clear night sky. His right arm hurt a little from being cut by the woman's shuriken but he was able to knock her out before he had to kill her and completed his mission.  
  
Judging by the moon it was already the next day and Kakashi was officially 18 years old. A smirked played across the jounin's face even though it was hidden behind his mask. He was 18!  
  
"Well if it isn't Kakashi! The Copy Cat ninja of Konoha who is my rival! Have you come to challenge me to prove to yourself once again that I am the strongest ninja?" Kakashi rolled his eyes as he kept walking ignoring the tall lanky man in his way as if he couldn't see him.  
  
"Oh Kakashi! You might think your cool in that way to ignore your eternal rival but I am beautiful green beast of Konoha and I still have to give you your present." Gai spoke loudly to himself as he saw Kakashi stop and turn around.  
  
"Present? For what?"  
  
"For your birthday! Ha how your youthful energies have started to fail your mind I see!" Kakashi just nodded and walked over to his friend.  
  
"Why are you giving it to me now? It can't be any earlier than one in the morning?" Kakashi sighed as Gai smiled.  
  
"But I have great stamina my rival and I am not as lazy no good bum like yourself! I embrace life at all times and that even means the wee early hours in the morning." Gai did a pose as his teeth sparkled making Kakashi cringe a bit. "Oh and I am leaving on a mission now so I decided to give you your present before I left."  
  
"You didn't have to Gai." Kakashi sighed. "I don't think I can take this because the last time I gave you anything for your birthday was when we were at the academy."  
  
"Well you suck and I'm better than you so take it." Gai spoke quickly as he handed a bright colored book in Kakashi's hands but before the silver haired jounin could react to Gai's statement the green beast was gone.  
  
"What the crap? Did he just say I sucked?" Kakashi laughed to himself as he looked at the object in his hands before his eye went wide.  
  
It was................it.................it was ICHA ICHA PARADISE!!  
  
Kakashi suddenly developed several respects for his rival he didn't think was possible as he opened the book and started reading. Wow! The author got to the point didn't he Kakashi thought to himself smugly.  
  
"Mizuki! I can't believe you did that!" Kakashi glanced up to see four shadows running away from the direction he knew Laden Lake to be located.  
  
"Don't worry he's a ninja I'm sure he will be fine!" Mizuki laughed as him and his friends started to disappear from Kakashi's hearing range. The last think the jounin heard contained the words 'stole', 'cloths' and 'Iruka's revenge.'  
  
After making out the word Iruka Kakashi gained interest in what could have happened by the lake...........and with that the jounin turned to the next page as he continued his walk to Laden Lake.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka glared at the darkness as his body shivered. How could they do this to him? He was cold, freezing actually and they had taken his cloths. The only thing that was left was the three hundred and twenty three dollars Mizuki had promised his friend.  
  
Oh Iruka could take a joke the brown haired chunin thought bitterly, now he only hoped his friend's wouldn't mind a very slow and pain full death.  
  
As Iruka's legs started to go numb the chunin jumped out of the freezing lake before he got hypothermia when it dawned on him again. He didn't have any cloths!! The chunin ran behind a tree even though he knew no body was around at this time of night.  
  
Now what to do? Iruka thought as he looked around.  
  
"I can't go back into Konoha because I will definitely be caught by someone and then I would have to explain this and then the Hokage would find out and........." Iruka stopped when none of the consequences seemed to be good for him and sighed. "Brrrrrr"  
  
"Just need to find some place warm then I can think of something." Iruka glanced around his surroundings one more time before he realized. He had forgotten about the hot springs about half a mile east of here! With that the chunin took off as quick as he could.  
  
SPLASH  
  
"Oh my gawd! This feels really good!" Iruka halfed but choked out as his shivering body was overcome by the hot water.  
  
Iruka felt his cheeks warm as he grinned. Well now to think of a plan...........he looked around to see if anyone had left any of their cloths lying around. No luck.  
  
Iruka was about to sigh when he saw someone approaching him at a slow speed. His heart jumped into his throat as the figure was defiantly walking straight towards the springs.  
  
"How am I going to explain this?" Iruka tried to find where he could hide but there was no place unless he jumped out of the water but then the figure would defiantly see him.  
  
"Iruka?" Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized the figure was directly in front of him.  
  
"Are you okay?" Kakashi grinned form ear to ear when Iruka finally realized who he was.  
  
"K.... KAKASHI!" Iruka's face turned beat red. Well it could have been worse but now how was he going to explain this?  
  
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Iruka..............since when did the chunin go out in such lack of clothing? He smiled to himself as he glanced at his book; this situation is a lot like chapter 3 when the villain seduced the beautiful maiden in her bath.  
  
Kakashi's cheeks must have visibly reddened in the areas that his facemask didn't cover because Iruka suddenly blushed deeper and started mumbling explanations to why he was the way he was.  
  
"And then Mizuki........." Iruka muffled off as he noticed the book Kakashi was holding. "HEY!"  
  
Kakashi visibly jumped out of Iruka's reach and laughed as Iruka glared at him.  
  
"BUT...........wait GAI WAS and then..............." Iruka paused and then looked at Kakashi. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"  
  
"Iruka I never knew you were so creative." Kakashi chirped as he took his sandals off and sat down on the ground with his feet in the water.  
  
"Huh?" Was all Iruka could think of before Kakashi pulled down his mask.  
  
"Yeah I mean meeting me out here wearing that! And then Gai giving me this beautiful book of inspiration why........ This is very kinky even for you." Kakashi curved both his eyes, as Iruka blushed even more.  
  
"NO! That's not it..............I was.........and then Mizuki.............cloths gone.........." Iruka couldn't get his brain to work properly when he suddenly felt two arms wrap around him making what Kakashi just said dawn on him. "PERVERT!"  
  
"Shhh. Not so loud my love they might find us." Kakashi said in a deep husky voice causing Iruka to shiver as he tried to get out of the jounin's grasp.  
  
"Kakashi! I need your help not..........not this!" Iruka whispered at the jounin.  
  
"You don't have to play hard to get Iruka I know what you really want." Kakashi spoke softly on Iruka's skin causing the chunin to try and break away even more frantically.  
  
"Stop! AH...........hehehe.........wait no!" Iruka tried to leave Kakashi's grasp as the jounin moved his hands around the figure's sides.  
  
"But I'm trying to seduce you Iruka and that wont work if I let you go." Kakashi complained with a playful hint in his voice.  
  
"What?" Was all Iruka could say before he felt Kakashi's lips on his own.  
  
Kakashi broke apart the kiss and smiled as Iruka stared at him. "See now?"  
  
"Why are you so good at that?" Iruka suddenly asked as he made it out of Kakashi's arms.  
  
"Well you seen on page 56 in my new book the villain........."  
  
"YOU'RE TRYING TO ACT OUT THAT NASTY BOOK? ON ME?" Iruka cried indignantly as Kakashi just blushed.  
  
"Would you rather I try it out on someone else?"  
  
"NO! I mean no that's not what I meant.........." Iruka sighed. "Do you have any spare cloths?"  
  
Kakashi grinned as he walked up to Iruka. "Yes I do but you have to earn them...........since now my cloths are wet because I came in the spring with you."  
  
Iruka blushed even deeper mumbling something along the lines of 'that's your fault' and 'pervert'. Iruka wrapped his arms cautiously around Kakashi before he leaned forward and kissed the jounin. There was a small cough from the side causing both the people in the spring to jump up and look at an ANBU who seemed to have just walked up on them.  
  
"Itachi?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow not letting go of Iruka who was obviously about to have a heart attack.  
  
"Sorry but Hokage-sama sent me after you for your mission report." The ANBU captain stated coldly. "Hokage-sama has requested you deliver it yourself."  
  
"Ah." Was all Kakashi said before the Anbu left and the jounin started laughing. "Well that was weird."  
  
Iruka looked up at Kakashi with blood lust in his eyes. "KAKASHI!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Kakashi appeared beside his bag and grab a scroll before he looked at Iruka. "Take my bag home okay."  
  
"Why do I have.............oh." Iruka smiled as he realized the change of cloths was in the bag. "See you when you get home Kakashi-koi."  
  
"And I plan to continue what we started here so if you don't mind draw a bath." Kakashi had a glint in his eye causing Iruka to both blush and furrow his eyebrows.  
  
"Stupid perverted book giving you ideas..........." Iruka mumbled off as Kakashi disappeared into the night.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka walked down the empty streets in his over sized cloths with a blush permanent on his cheeks. So Kakashi had finally turned 18 and that meant Icha Icha Paradise.................a lot of Icha Icha Paradise.  
  
"Oh crap!" Iruka turned around to see four very familiar figures not too far off.  
  
"Do you think he can see us?" A soft voice whispered causing Iruka to roll his eyes.  
  
"Um he's walking this way isn't he?" There was a small pause in Mizuki's voice before the figures scrambled. "RUN!"  
  
Iruka's mission: Revenge.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Well? What did you guys think?  
  
This chapter was really fun to write but I had three different endings originally but this one seemed the funnest to write. I hope you guys are having a great week and now for the reviews!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Reviews'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Hitokiri Kitsune: I'm glad you got hooked I do that all the time! I remember I stayed up till I had to go to school the next day reading the story 'Attraction' by gelfling (or something spelled like that) I hope that this fic doesn't disappoint anyone when it ends. Please keep reading and I hope you caught up on all your missed sleep!  
  
SexySiriusBlack: THANK YOU! I do/don't have a beta reader because the person who reads this story before I post it is my twin.............I will try to fix the problems and thanks for pointing them out because I don't want my work getting sloppy. Sorry about the 'almost' sad thing I didn't catch it. I'm glad you enjoy this story and thanks for the compliment I hope my skills are still able to keep you interested all the way till the end. Sorry about the 'almost' sad thing I didn't catch it.  
  
Sonha: I'm sorry I try not to be mean but some things happen and this story is supposed to have angst and humor and all that stuff. I might be mean but hopefully I will be forgiven when this fic is over. I can't end this fic just yet though because well some stuff has to happen mainly in the next two chapters you guys might get it but until then..............muwhahahaha *hack hack* never mind.  
  
WintersOnlyRose: Well I hope you didn't cry any this chapter and you're just like my sister! She was really sad after last chapter so I had to make it up with this one not that I wasn't planning on having this chapter anyway!  
  
Morien Alexander: The calm before a storm comment wont be happening this chapter as you can already tell and stuff I was just giving you a warning. Oh and don't worry about the happy ending I don't need you to pay me and you don't have to be my slave..............hmmm *thinks about it* though I could use some.............nah never mind! Don't worry the ending should be very happy so I hope I don't disappoint you!  
  
Kami Beverly: _ Please don't cry for my fic Beverly! The truth is I never let this fic go! *sings to music of don't cry for me Argentina* Think happy thoughts! But not happy all the way through there is still some angst I must do...........hehe......... Silver Neo: I actually thought about an AU family between Gai and Hitomi but it never worked out and it just didn't fit to what I was planning...........I ALWAYS LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! I'm glad your mom is used to your. ......ummm.......impulses because mine just gives me the look and I usually have to turn off the TV or get off the internet.....sigh.........oh well! Kakashi is a possessive little baka isn't he? *laughs* So what did you think of this chapter?  
  
Fal Catrecon: She really loved Gai and Iruka and the thought of them getting hurt because of Kakashi's near death just didn't seem possible. Another thought that I imagined she would think was that the shinobi would moist likely kill her after he killed Kakashi so if she made sure at least one of them live then at least Iruka would have someone to hold him..........something like that *goes off rambling*  
  
Tri-lily: I will try to be more careful with my grammar so I am going to go over each chapter more carefully before I post it. I don't want anything to make this fic less enjoyable since it is being written for me to have fun and so that other people can enjoy it. I hope you continue to enjoy this story!  
  
Hari-chan: Thank you! Hitomi was a fun character to make especially since she wasn't really in Kishimoto's original story so I could just do what I wanted with her.........I'm glad that you like this story even through the sad parts so keep reading and reviewing!  
  
Renn: I hope my braces are only on for a year and a half because I have to go to college! I'm sorry I know you guys had missed feelings for Hitomi but don't worry! Hitomi will always be alive in our hearts,......*gags at obvious sappy comment* I hope you enjoy this story even though Hitomi is gone......  
  
DarkDemonMaster: Okay your review was fun because you said "sad...*sniff*" and with a name like yours I wouldn't think of you leaving a review like that. *smiles* I'm just teasing you but I hoped this chapter helped cheer you up more ne?  
  
Sausweet: I'm just not going to bother with chapter twelve anymore because everyone got the pint right? *waits hopefully* I'm glad you enjoyed the Hokage thing and you follow the timeline very well but at the same time I hope you aren't able to guess what is going to happen in the next chapters because it is fun to semi-surprise the readers if you know what I mean lol. I hoped you enjoyed the great reappearance of Icha Icha Paradise! *authoress looks at Kakashi plushie in the middle of it's Iruka harem* OMG! I love you Sausweet! *squeezes the plushies! And looks over at the gift for her sister* OMG! *takes it and adds it to her gift* Hehehe thank you for the magnet ones too...............just playing she loves your gift!  
  
Hikari of Darkness: I hope I continued well enough for you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!  
  
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Have a great week!  
  
Please Review!! 


	15. Kakashi?

I do not own Naruto nor do I own any of the songs that are briefly used in this chapter.  
  
Hey funny story (mainly just cause it happened yesterday) I fell down the stairs at my school. *smile* I was wearing a new pair of sandals that turned out to not have good friction on my school's floor and while I was running down the stairs since school was over and I wanted to get past all the people (keep in mind 2600 students) well I was running and slipped backwards and fell.  
  
Thankfully my backpack/bag flew behind me and protected my back but I fell on my but and it's been hard to sit for a while *sigh* Well the thing that makes this story so cool that I want to share it with you guys is that in my psychology class earlier that day we were talking about people will be less likely to help you if there is a bigger group of people but that was disproven!  
  
The guy behind me helped me up and all the people who saw stopped what they were doing and asked me if I was okay! Talk about feeling special for the few minutes of my life but it was extremely nice of those people and no one laughed at me!  
  
Well that was just my ramblings........Hehehe............oh and if any of you have a PS2 and need a game to take up your time and give you a work out at the same time I would suggest you get the game DDR!  
  
PS: side note for the last chapter (you know Iruka's got his pants stolen) that was also inspired from school when he girl's locker room was robbed and someone stole my pants! I had to go around school in my gym uniform for the rest of the day *sigh* but that was a while ago so I just thought ya'll might enjoy that little tidbit of information.  
  
Okay well no more of this stuff because ya'll came for the story and I'm talking too much *laughs* so here you go!  
  
Enjoy!  
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Chapter 15: Kakashi?  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka couldn't help but smile as the Hokage handed him a certificate. He had finally found something to do that he would enjoy.  
  
Iruka looked over the school halls and smiled. He remembered the years he had spent at the ninja academy. After talking to a few people he found out that he would be able to qualify for a teaching position, but being only 17 he would start off as an assistant teacher and help out around the school to get a better feel of things.  
  
"Here you go Iruka-sensei." The Hokage smiled as he smoked on his pipe and did a small bow. The boy had grown up before his eyes and was going to become a teacher. A very good teacher at that or so the Hokage believed.  
  
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Iruka did another bow before he turned to the teachers he would be working with.  
  
"Wow Mizuki I never thought you wanted to be a teacher too." Iruka laughed as his friend smirked.  
  
"Well there are many things you don't know Iruka." Iruka stared blankly at Mizuki trying not to read into the comment too much before he just pushed it aside.  
  
"Since when did you get interested in the career Iruka-kun?" Kurenai smiled as Iruka glared at her.  
  
"You don't have to use 'kun' anymore Kurenai-sensei." Iruka sighed and then smiled. "I thought it would be nice to give something back to Konoha and good teachers are pretty rare these days."  
  
"Are you saying I'm not a good teacher?" Kurenai furrowed her eyebrows at Iruka before the teen shook his head.  
  
"I wasn't implying that at all!"  
  
"Kurenai-sensei, Suzume has your class outside. She's teaching them the art of flower arranging." A young female smiled at Kurenai and then winked at Iruka and Mizuki causing both boys to blush.  
  
Iruka would start assisting in the younger classes and would hopefully be getting to know his future students unless they graduated early. The young chunin went down the hallway with a grin on his face before he felt two arms wrap around his waist.  
  
"Wha?" Iruka heard a small chuckle and looked at the silver haired perpetrator. "You shouldn't do that when I'm not paying attention."  
  
"You shouldn't put your guard down, especially when you have that stupid smile on your face." Kakashi teased as he kissed Iruka's neck with his cloth-covered lips.  
  
"Kakashi! Not here!" Iruka blushed as he got out of Kakashi's grasp. "I start working here on Monday!"  
  
"But if you didn't it would be okay?" The jounin cemented his hold on his lover.  
  
"I didn't say that either, I'm going to be a teacher so I have more responsibilities." Iruka threatened before he felt himself being moved.  
  
Kakashi grinned underneath his mask as he pulled Iruka into an empty classroom and pushed the chunin against the wall.  
  
"I know." Kakashi whispered dangerously, "And I have always wanted to do this in one of these classrooms ever since I graduated."  
  
Iruka blushed even more before it hit him, "BUT YOU WERE ONLY 5 WHEN YOU GRADUATED!"  
  
Kakashi covered Iruka's mouth with his gloved hand before the chunin could yell anymore. "Shhh. We might get caught if you keep screaming like that."  
  
"But we aren't going to do anything." Iruka said in a low threatening voice before Kakashi pushed him up against the wall again and pulled down his mask and kissed the chunin.  
  
"But it will be really fun..........." Kakashi whispered into Iruka's ear, as the chunin blushed even deeper.  
  
"Those stupid books you read are giving you too many ideas." Iruka sighed before he kissed Kakashi on the cheek and smiled. "But...........we are young.........."  
  
Before Iruka could finish his sentence Kakashi covered his lips with his own and bit down on Iruka's bottom lip to get a small gasp from the chunin. Iruka gave Kakashi a warning glare before nipped at Kakashi's ear.  
  
"THAT STUPID BRAT!"  
  
Iruka froze as they heard running past the closed door his eyes watching the shadows past the room he and Kakashi were in. His heart was racing when he finally looked at Kakashi. The jounin just smiled and continued to kiss Iruka with his hands grabbing the chunin's upper thigh.  
  
"Ka.........ah.........shi." Iruka bit his lip for making a noise as he glared at the jounin.  
  
"Hehehe." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head before he heard small footsteps running down the hallway quickly. Kakashi kissed the chunin one more time before he vanished leaving a very confused and blushing Iruka.  
  
Iruka turned to the door as he heard it open and saw a small blond figure run in the classroom and jump out one of the windows. The boy took one glance at Iruka and bolted but Iruka was able to see the cobalt blue eyes and the distinctive marks on the boy's cheeks.  
  
"That was........." Iruka turned to see two very mad looking teachers run into the room and look around.  
  
"Did a student just come in here?" The taller of the men spat out quickly.  
  
"Yes, he went out the window.........." Iruka pointed in the direction and both men disappeared as Iruka just watched in shock. Were they chasing the fox?  
  
"Wow." Iruka turned his head to see Kakashi standing right beside him as if the jounin didn't leave. "I guess he's the kid responsible for the paintings on Hokage's tower."  
  
"The tower?" Iruka looked at Kakashi, then he narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah you left me here without saying anything............"  
  
Kakashi grinned with a small blush on his cheeks even though his mask covered it. Iruka was already out of the classroom and on his way to ignoring the jounin when Kakashi grabbed his arm and pulled the chunin to the back staircase only used for emergencies.  
  
"Now we can't be interrupted." Kakashi grinned curving up his one eye as Iruka shook his head.  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" Kakashi repeated Iruka looking like it was a sad sad joke.  
  
Iruka sighed as Kakashi just frowned. The jounin was really cute when he wanted to be...............with that thought Iruka pulled down Kakashi's mask and kissed him on the cheek with a small blush and smiled.  
  
"It was fun up there almost getting caught."  
  
Kakashi stared at Iruka dumbfounded. Did the chunin just say that.........he had fun? Iruka actually has naughty side to him? If Kakashi ever cried, he would have tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks but then again that was more of a Gai thing and this is Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi kissed him slowly finding a way where they both could be more comfortable. They could hear the teachers dismiss class and the kids running down the hallway. Kakashi took off his and Iruka vests and started to mess with the chunin's shirt when the staircase door opened.  
  
"Sorry I can't stay after today sensei but aniki promised to train with me when he wasn't on duty." Iruka heard a small voice before the child started down the stairs.  
  
Iruka gave Kakashi one of those looks like 'if we get caught and this kid is my future student I will kill you slowly and painfully not to mention you sleep on the couch till that kid graduates'. Kakashi did a few hand seal and kissed Iruka before the chunin could protest and then they saw a black haired boy run by.  
  
Iruka was about to sigh in relief when the kid came back up and looked around.  
  
"Is someone here?" The young voice asked before it noticed two vests tossed to the side. The kid looked wearily around before it glared with his black eyes. "I can see you."  
  
// He can see us? But he can be older than 6! // Iruka glanced at Kakashi to see the jounin wasn't moving.  
  
"Hmmm..........I thought for a second that I saw someone............." And with that the dark haired boy continued his journey down the stairs before Kakashi let go of the jutsus.  
  
"I swore for a moment he saw us." Iruka laughed silently as Kakashi nodded.  
  
"Well he would have been able to if he was older or already mastered the Sharingan."  
  
"Sharingan? You mean he was from the Uchiha clan?" Iruka remembered what the boy looked like and it made sense. In fact he looked remarkably similar to one Uchiha Itachi.  
  
"So?" Kakashi grinned as Iruka looked at him.  
  
"Is that all you think about?"  
  
"Well when I'm alone with you...........yes." Kakashi answered truthfully nodding his head as if to make some kind of effect.  
  
Iruka smirked at the jounin and grabbed the collar of Kakashi's shirt to pull the silver haired man into a kiss. The school brought out a good side in Iruka Kakashi thought as he returned the kiss.  
  
"ACK!" Both men stopped and turned their heads to see red eyes glaring at them.  
  
"K.....K..Kurenai-se....s...sensei." Iruka stuttered as the woman glared at him.  
  
"Iruka! Kakashi!" She yelled as her eyebrow twitched. "WHAT IF SOME STUDENTS SAW YOU? IRUKA I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THIS AND YOU! KAKASHI WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE AT THE SCHOOL?"  
  
"I was trying to entice Iruka into a little forbidden love making on the grounds of his new job." Kakashi curved his one eye and smiled even though his mask had already been pulled up before the dark haired woman could see.  
  
"You......you......." Kurenai glared at Kakashi before she ran up and hit him. "PERVERT!"  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"And what did we learn today?" Iruka sighed as if he was a teacher who had spent all day lecturing a student.  
  
"Wow you have the perfect tone of voice for a teacher. You almost sound like you're actually annoyed." Kakashi smirked before Iruka glared at him.  
  
"Kakashi." Iruka opened the fridge and pulled out some ice before he turned around to face the jounin. "What did we learn today?"  
  
"Kurenai has a mean punch?" Kakashi said half teasingly and half not as he rubbed the sore bump on his head before Iruka placed the ice on it.  
  
"Kakashi." Iruka's voice went up a pitch like how parents say their child's name whenever the child just got caught doing something bad but kept changing the subject.  
  
"We learned............that school isn't for fulfilling my fantasies............." Kakashi mumbled regretfully as Iruka smiled.  
  
"Now are you going to be okay? I need to go to work at the assigning room." Iruka picked up a clipboard he had set on the table earlier before glancing at Kakashi to see the jounin's response.  
  
"Don't worry about me, I have a mission with Gai later so I won't be home tonight." Kakashi got up and walked to that bathroom for some kind of painkiller, he suddenly found himself with a bad headache.  
  
"In that case do you mind if I stay over with Mizuki? Some of the new teacher underlings are getting together."  
  
"Have fun!" Kakashi called out from the bathroom.  
  
"Oh! Are you going to be home for breakfast?" Iruka walked into the bathroom and Kakashi nodded his head before he swallowed a few pills.  
  
Was it just Kakashi or did they sound like a married couple? It was kind of unnerving but Kakashi quickly put that feeling aside and thought about what information Gai had given him about the mission.  
  
"Gai said it will take about five days to escort these paranoid rich people but there has to be something else if they are sending both me and Gai so I am thinking I'll be gone for a week." Kakashi turned to see Iruka staring at him surprised.  
  
"A week?" Iruka sighed. "We usually do something before you leave if it's going to be longer than five days."  
  
"Sorry Iruka I just forgot."  
  
"Hm." Iruka pouted for a second before he was pushed to the ground and Kakashi was kissing him.  
  
"Well if you are going to act like that.............." Kakashi smirked as he kissed Iruka's neck. "You can always be a little late to work."  
  
"No! Kakashi! I............ha! Hey!..........................no wait.....................stop!" Iruka was finally able to push Kakashi up as his face became all flustered. Iruka glared at Kakashi as the jounin smiled bringing their foreheads together.  
  
"We aren't at the school so you can relax now."  
  
Iruka smirked a bit pushing his bottom lip out before he closed his eyes. How he wished they could stay like this forever with him being so close to Kakashi but the sound of the door bell woke the chunin up from his dream world as he opened his eyes to see Kakashi looking at him smugly.  
  
"That's Gai." Kakashi stood up pulling the chunin up with him so they both were on their feet. "Bye Iruka-koi."  
  
Kakashi placed a kiss on Iruka's cheek as he walked out of the bathroom. Iruka smiled and made his way out to see Gai wave at him as he returned the gesture.  
  
"Bye guys, be safe." And with that Iruka was off to work.  
  
Gai looked over at Kakashi. "The Hokage wanted to see you before we left."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Hokage-sama, you wanted to talk to me?" Kakashi appeared in the Hokages room to see the old man nod his head.  
  
"Kakashi there has been something bothering me for a long time and I have decided to bring it to your attention since if something happens it will affect you."  
  
Kakashi stared at the Hokage trying to decipher the very vague explanation to why he was called but just waited instead knowing full well the Hokage would explain himself.  
  
"As you have known there have been unknown threats growing but we haven't gotten any real information." The Hokage paused and took a few puffs of his pipe before he continued. "Something is up and I have a feeling something is going to happen. I am assigning a group of shinobi who will be dispersed on the field immediately when that event occurs. These shinobi will then be gone from the village for a while or as long as it takes to get the information we need."  
  
Kakashi paused trying to decode the hidden meanings and just nodded. So the Hokage has a bad feeling (very bad thing) and has a group of shinobi (most likely including Kakashi) prepared incase this fear comes true. And if push comes to shove Kakashi will find himself on a dangerous spy mission with a few more individuals that could last for years.  
  
"So you are saying....."  
  
"I am saying that you should be prepared, not that you aren't prepared for anything I give you but what I am trying to say is make sure you can leave the village without any chains that will hinder your performance."  
  
// Chains? Does he mean........//  
  
"I believe Gai is waiting for you to start your mission." The Hokage interrupted Kakashi's thoughts as the jounin did a bow and then left.  
  
The Hokage sighed as he watched the silver haired shinobi leave. He knew that he had done the right thing to give Kakashi the heads up whether or not the shinobi found the true meaning behind the message was up to how open Kakashi's mind was and what he did in reaction to this information all depended on how what the silver haired shinobi's heart could take.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"It's a small village after all! It's a small village after all! It's a small villa....." (1)  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up." Kakashi hit Gai in the face to interrupt the green beasts song as Gai glared at him.  
  
"I've got a lovely bunch of red soldier pills doodoodoodooo. There they are standing in the road! Take one small one....." (2)  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
Gai sighed as the silence once consumed the pair before he perked up and smiled.  
  
"Kakashi and Gai were the best of rivals all through their shinobi days! Both former members of the Anbu squad, both active in the....." (3)  
  
Gai found himself on the ground with Kakashi a good distance ahead of him by the time he realized Kakashi had punched him.  
  
"What's your problem?" Gai yelled as he appeared in front of his rival. If there was something he could beat Kakashi in it was definitely speed.  
  
Kakashi was silent for a second before he sighed and looked over at Gai. "Sorry."  
  
Gai just watched as his rival met up with the people they were watching with a serious expression on his face. Kakashi had been acting weird ever since they left Konoha and now his rival just apologized to him. Gai prayed he wasn't being ungrateful when he said, "What the crap?"  
  
The sky slowly faded from the clear blue sky to the dark shadow of the night in which the shinobi thrived. Kakashi had just finished checking the perimeter and setting up traps for a safe measure when he found Gai waiting for him at the tree they were going to take up watch in.  
  
"Who has first shift?" Kakashi spoke softly to not disturb their sleeping clients.  
  
"I need to tell you something.........." Gai smiled at his rival and best friend who sat down next to him. It had been a while since they had last chatted with just them and well Gai had found himself with a dilemma he had already agreed to.  
  
"Okay?" Kakashi egged on his friend to continue when he noticed the green beast of Konoha pause.  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
".............."  
  
".........to take a break for a while in a way but mainly to go check out some old scrolls some of our teams came across in the neutral areas." Gai added to see if Kakashi would comprehend what he was saying.  
  
"You are leaving........." Kakashi waited for Gai to nod. "And will come back............?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Oh."  
  
There was a moment of silence between the friends before Kakashi sighed.  
  
"Well if we are being open about things now then I guess.....................the Hokage brought something to my attention and it's been bothering me."  
  
"Hn?" Gai nodded to show he was listening and was glad his confessional time was over.  
  
"We've been rivals for a long time now, right?" Kakashi waited for Gai to agree before he continued. "So you pretty much know me better than anyone right?"  
  
"Right." Gai agreed hesitantly.  
  
"So then, if I made a mistake in doing something a long time ago................I mean, you would understand if I didn't want to tie anyone down with an extra burden if I died on a mission right."  
  
"But you haven't died yet so what's your point?"  
  
Kakashi sighed. "As a shinobi we are required to serve our village by any means possible. It's something that we are trained our whole lives to do once we chose the path of a shinobi."  
  
There was a small pause between the two men before Kakashi continued. "Many shinobi die on missions often leaving the ones they loved behind............you've seen it, I've seen it. We both know how much pain you go through once you find out someone very close to you has died."  
  
"What are you getting at Kakashi?" Gai sighed, his friend didn't sound like the lazy freeloader Kakashi at all.  
  
"I just........I don't want anyone to be in pain in when I die." Kakashi turned his face so that he was facing Gai only to see the other jounin look at him funny.  
  
"For a moment there Kakashi it sounded like you were breaking up with me." Gai laughed softly trying to make a joke when it hit him.  
  
"Not you Gai.........." Kakashi paused before he looked up avoiding eye contact with his friend.  
  
"Iruka?" Gai finished Kakashi's sentenced and stared at the silver haired jounin. "But Kakashi.............you can't be serious I mean you love him."  
  
"I am serious Gai." Kakashi said in his bored, flat voice. "The Hokage mentioned something to me and after thinking about it, I can't help but feel this way."  
  
"But you can't help the way you feel for Iruka either." Gai added trying to knock some since into the man beside him. "And you can't help the way Iruka feels for you."  
  
"Yes I can." Kakashi muttered to himself before he stood up and looked at his friend. "Well this was a nice chat Gai but I'm going to go take a nap so wake me up for my shift okay."  
  
And before Gai could protest the copycat ninja was gone.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka smirked as he looked at the drawings the kids were making. He had soon come to discover that his favorite time of day was 'free time'.  
  
'Free time' consisted in letting the kids color and paint like a normal art class but instead it was at the Ninja Academy. Iruka walked down the aisles beside the desks while the teacher he was helping out for till he was a full-fledged teacher had gone to the teacher's lounge to 'take a nap' as she had told him so openly.  
  
"Oi! Who took all the orange?" A boy with two marks down his face (one on each cheek) called out as he narrowed his animal like eyes. Iruka sighed, that Kiba-kun was too loud for something so small.  
  
Iruka was about to go see if he could find anymore orange when he noticed all the orange paint containers at an empty desk. That was odd since the desk had been filled only moments ago...............CRAP! Iruka thought mentally as he remembered the blonde terror that occupied that seat.  
  
"Where's Naruto?" Iruka asked out loud as the kids looked around shrugging, none of them knowing the answer.  
  
Within seconds Iruka heard a scream down the hallway and found himself in front of the teacher's lounge throwing the door open. His eyes widened as he saw the blonde hellion laughing on the floor while the teacher who had been napping was painted in orange.  
  
"UZUMAKI!!" Iruka yelled causing the boy to look at him and sit up straight. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"  
  
"Uhhh............" The boy scratched the back of his head innocently as Iruka glared at him.  
  
"Back." Iruka's glare deepened. "NOW."  
  
And with that the blonde was scampering off as fast as he could while Iruka sighed and the teacher washed her face. So much for that kid being the fox, Iruka could careless at the moment about that fact as he walked back to the class hoping the little tyrant was back in his seat.  
  
To Iruka's pleasure the boy was. Iruka continued looking over the pictures all the kids were making. The kid who sat in the back from the Nara clan had fallen asleep after he painted some rather fluffy looking clouds and the Inuzuka Kiba kid had drawn some blobs that were supposed to be his parent's dogs.  
  
Iruka thought he was doing pretty well with names, he at least remembered the ones he needed to (the ones he called out the most) and if he didn't know first name then he definitely knew their clans.  
  
Iruka looked at the clock and smiled. Five more minutes and then he would get to go home for a brief moment then he would work at the assigning room. He was about to sit down at the teacher's desk when one black head of hair caught his attention.  
  
It was the kid who had almost caught him and Kakashi on the staircase. Iruka blushed a bit remembering that and was glad Kakashi had managed to trick the boy with an illusion. The kid's name was Uchiha Sasuke and a prodigy at that. He was the smartest in his class and all the teachers had high hopes for him and his cousins who were currently enrolled in the school too.  
  
Curiosity eventually got a better hold of Iruka as he made his way to see what the boy had drawn. In pencil were two figures standing beside each other smiling, one taller than the other and the taller form had a long ponytail while the small form had short hair but before Iruka could read the writings above the figures the bell rang signifying that the day was over and all the kids were gone including Sasuke.  
  
Iruka sighed and smiled as he walked around picking up all the messes that were made and was grateful there was nothing to grade that day. He cleaned up the leftover mess and left saying bye to all the teachers as he made his way home.  
  
This job was definitely the one he was called for.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi sighed as he stood at the doorstep to his house with the key in his hand. He sighed and his shoulders visibly slumped as he tried to think of ways he could do this.  
  
The silver haired shinobi placed a hand over the bandages on his left arm and looked at the new mask and gear he was holding. Maybe it was a good thing he decided to rejoin the Anbu squad?  
  
Kakashi opened the door to hear the shower on in the distance and gave a sad smirk. So Iruka was home............the Anbu shook his head. This was for the best he had to do this. After all the debates him and Gai went through and all the arguments that had passed through his head over the mission he knew what he was going to do. It was the right thing to do.  
  
Then again sometimes doing the right things isn't doing the right thing.  
  
When the shower turned off Kakashi flinched and his body tensed up. He had to do this because Iruka deserved better. He didn't want to see the chunin in any more pain, to have the chunin lose anymore special people because of the career that is being a shinobi.  
  
"Oi, Kakashi?" Kakashi looked over to see Iruka wearing a lose robe and boxers fiddling with a towel in his hair.  
  
"Hey." Kakashi felt his chest tighten as Iruka gave him an innocent grin.  
  
"Well I wish I could stay to chat and catch up because believe me I have a lot of stuff to tell you." Iruka smiled even brighter. "But I have to go in to the assigning room."  
  
"No you don't." Kakashi was glad he had passed by there before he came home. "I asked Fukui-san to take your shift."  
  
"Oh?" Iruka grinned and before Kakashi could move was by his boyfriend pulling down Kakashi's mask and bringing the jounin into a kiss before Kakashi backed off startling Iruka.  
  
"Kakashi?"  
  
"Ah..........oh um my arm." Kakashi berated himself as he pointed to the bandages and Iruka looked worried.  
  
"But I thought it was just a simple escort mission with just very paranoid people." Iruka reached for Kakashi's arm but the jounin pulled it away.  
  
"Oh no you see, um...........I did this today." Kakashi curved his only visible eye as Iruka looked at him confused. "I rejoined the Anbu force."  
  
"WHAT?" Iruka looked at Kakashi in shock. What was this all of the sudden? It was one thing that Kakashi was acting weird but now he joined the Anbu squad without even talking to him............was this some form of midlife crisis?  
  
"Iruka." Kakashi sighed. He had to do this now before it got any harder. "We need to talk."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
And I end this chapter with the four words that can make anyone in a relationship cringe! Sorry for the semi-cliffy but I need to post this before I end up taking forever right?  
  
And the song below just so happens to be one of my favorites that I listened to for this chapter. It's called 'Cry Just a Little' by Shania Twain or Faith Hill (can't remember), I don't really listen to country music but some songs out there you just have to hear once no matter what grouping it's in.  
  
If I had just one tear rollin' down your cheek Maybe I could cope Maybe I get some sleep If I had just one moment at your expense Maybe all my misery would be well spent  
  
Yeah  
  
Could you cry a little, Lie just a little Pretend that your feeling a little more pain I gave, now I'm wanting something in return So cry just a little for me  
  
If your love could be caged Honey I would hold the key And conceal it underneath The pile of lies you've handed me And you hunt those lies They be all you ever find That be all you have to know For me to be fine  
  
Yeah  
  
And you'd cry a little And die just a little And maybe I would feel just a little less pain I gave, now I'm wanting something in return So cry just a little for me  
  
Give it up baby I hear your doin fine Nothings gonna save me Til I see it in your eyes Some kind of heartache honey Give it a try I don want pity I just want what is mine  
  
Yeah  
  
Would you cry a little Lie just a little Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain I gave, now I'm wanting something in return So cry just a little for me  
  
Yeah  
  
Cry just a little for me Whoa whoa Could you cry a little for me hmmm yeah yeah  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
(1)--- 'It's a small world after all.' (2)--- 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts.' (3)--- 'Earl had to die.' By The Dixie Chicks  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Reviews'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Jay-Chan3: Hehehehe............I never realized I didn't have any commas! The thing is I rely on Microsoft word to tell me when I need to use one and when I don't. (sometimes I use them and 'Word' get's all mad at me until I delete the commas. *sigh* I hope you continue enjoying the story!  
  
usagi-hk: Yo no hablas español mío bien. *smile* Sorry I don't know any Spanish! I think it is cool that you are reading my story! I loved your long review! I'm also glad that you can understand my writing because that takes talent *lol* KakaIru is definitely one of the cutest Naruto pairings, I'm glad you enjoy the 'What is Love?" chapter because it is one of my favorites too! I often go and read it when I'm stuck in a chapter or have the time. Thank you again for reviewing and I can't wait to hear more from you.  
  
SsjAndromeda: I know I have a lot of grammatical errors and I try to find them before I post the story but sometimes I just don't have the time to check that carefully. As long as my mistakes aren't ruining the story and you keep enjoying it then I will continue to do my best. I will start trying more though so thank you for reviewing and I hope I hear from you again.  
  
Kakashi_Suka~_~{ my fan } : I love your name! Thanks and I hope you continue loving this story because it's the fans like you who keep me going!  
  
Ash of Mine: I'm actually really interested to see how you will respond to this chapter just as I can't wait to see how everyone is going to react. Please don't hate me!  
  
Muchahcha: Don't you love coincidences! I love being an authoress because those can just happen every so often to keep the story going don't you think? I'm glad I am still getting reviews from you because it is nice to see I still have people from the very beginning! I hope my writing hasn't gotten worse! I can't wait to see your review for this chapter!  
  
Hikari of Darkness: I hope I updated quick enough and you didn't forget this story! I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter so much!  
  
Renn: Gai is awesome and you want to kill Mizuki now.............just wait until later.....*laughs evilly* let's just say he's not the best friend Iruka should be hanging out with......muwahaha!  
  
Princess Razu: I did!  
  
Evila Kasumi: I do need a proofreader but the fact is it would probably take me longer to update if I got one. Since I barely have enough time to write this story in one week (as you can tell I'm sure) but I'm glad you are enjoying this fic and I can guarantee it isn't ending anytime too soon!  
  
Dtamerx: I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter hahaha!  
  
Lady Geuna: I hope you liked my introduction of the infamous prankster Naruto in this chapter because he will become a major role in the near future in Iruka's life anyway *snicker* Well I don't know if I'm that brilliant *flips hair* (( Narcissism at it's peak) Please review again!  
  
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Please Review. 


	16. Broken Hearts and Broken Homes

I do not own Naruto or do you seriously think I would writing this fanfiction? NOPE I would be reading fanfics and then putting them in my manga *laughs*  
  
Can't talk much since I'm sure you guys have been dying to know what is going to happen though I'm sure the title gives it away. Thank you for the awesome reviews and I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter!  
  
Enjoy!  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Chapter 16: Broken Hearts and Broken Homes  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
"Iruka." Kakashi sighed. He had to do this now before it got any harder. "We need to talk."  
  
Iruka just stared at Kakashi for a second before he nodded in his confusion and went to sit down in the living room area. Something wasn't right and the chunin's gut seemed to agree as it tightened whenever Kakashi gave Iruka a sad glance.  
  
"What's on your mind?" Iruka tried to push away whatever doubts that were in his head and smiled at Kakashi as the jounin sat down across the room from him in a chair.  
  
"Iruka I................" Kakashi paused. He had practiced what he was going to say but now he couldn't find the words. Iruka was right there! Right across from him innocently not knowing what the jounin had on his mind. It made Kakashi's chest tighten as he suddenly felt a wave of guilt.  
  
But why was he feeling any guilt? This was the best choice for both of them and Kakashi knew that the chunin would probably thank him later on.  
  
"Kakashi-koi?" Iruka looked at Kakashi worriedly at the silver haired jounin's strange behavior.  
  
"Don't." Kakashi whispered.  
  
"What?" Iruka couldn't quite get what Kakashi was saying. "Kakashi-k......?"  
  
"Don't call me that Iruka!" Kakashi said bitterly as Iruka just gave him a confused glance.  
  
"Why? Is there something wrong, Kakashi why are you acting weird?" Iruka stood up and went over the jounin but when he placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder, the jounin visibly flinched and Iruka withdrew his hand.  
  
"Iruka I'm.............going to be gone for a while." Kakashi stated plainly regaining his normally bored tone. "Hokage has a feeling and so do I."  
  
"Is that it?" Iruka smiled. "Man Kakashi it's okay if you're gone for a bit I mean we both have separate lives don't we? But it must be something bad you are feeling if this is your reaction."  
  
"You could say that............" Kakashi trailed off but then looked Iruka in the face. "But I have to ask you, where did you ever see us going?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Iruka backed away a bit from Kakashi.  
  
"I mean how long did you ever think this, us, was going to last?" Kakashi bit his lip even though his face was still hidden from Iruka. He needed to know how Iruka felt before he did this.  
  
"I..........I.........I don't know...........why?"  
  
Kakashi sighed before he shook his head confusing the chunin even more. Did Iruka say something wrong?  
  
"So how do you like working at the school?" Kakashi decided to change the atmosphere before he continued. He needed to find the right way to approach this where Iruka didn't get hurt.  
  
"Wait! You can't change the subject!" Iruka's brown eyes seem to flash anger. "I'm not one to beat around the bush and you know it."  
  
"JUST............just answer me Iruka." Kakashi took control over his voice and gave Iruka a glance as if daring the chunin to go against him.  
  
At first Iruka was startled by this but he eventually tore his gaze away from Kakashi and sighed. Maybe he just needed to calm down and take in a deep breath. After a moment's silence Iruka turned to Kakashi and answered his question.  
  
"It was fun. I really love working there and it's a good way to serve the village without having to leave home, as much ya know? Not that I have a problem with missions its more that now I have a reason to be something I enjoy and serve Konoha."  
  
"Serve?" Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow to show he was interested.  
  
"Yeah, you went to the academy, maybe I never realized it before now but that's what we are taught. Our allegiances and skills belong to Konoha because Konoha is our home. We exist because of this village so we also exist to make sure it thrives." Iruka scratched his chin before looking at Kakashi's emotionless exposed eye. "What's with the mood Kakashi? You're starting to creep me out."  
  
Kakashi paused for a second before he stood up in front of Iruka so that they were both facing each other.  
  
"Iruka.........I think.........."  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka tried to urge Kakashi to continue even though he felt a fear grow in the pit of the stomach at what the jounin might say.  
  
"Iruka, I'm sorry." Kakashi sighed as he finally said what he wanted hoping the chunin would get the hidden message but knowing in the back of his head fate was never that kind.  
  
"For what?" Iruka looked at Kakashi ridiculously pushing some of the stray hairs behind his ears as he started to fiddle with his ponytail. Well if Iruka wasn't going to work he might as well let his hair down.  
  
The chunin took down his ponytail and smiled as he grabbed Kakashi's shirt. Iruka gave Kakashi a small playful grin as if trying to erase all the tension in the air with his light hearted smile but all this did was cause Kakashi to look away.  
  
Kakashi had told himself this would be easy but as he watched how the lights brought out Iruka's caramel skin and how the hair neatly framed the chunin's cheeks whenever the teen smiled Kakashi couldn't help but feel as if he was falling in love all over again.  
  
What right did he have?  
  
Here had had come with a mission that would benefit both of them greatly in the end and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Some man he was. 20 years old and able to kill without a hesitation but here he was standing in front of his greatest trial. He had to do this, if he was going to guarantee Iruka's happiness he had to do this.  
  
"I'm sorry for not being what you deserve." Kakashi stated as Iruka looked at him like he was going mad.  
  
"Whatever Kakashi, I have no idea what you're talking abo........"  
  
"I'm not a great guy Iruka. In fact, I'm the worse person on this forsaken earth. I avoid responsibilities like the plague, I'm always late, I have more flaws than you have hairs on your head and I wanted to apologize for wasting your time." Kakashi grabbed Iruka's arm so the chunin was no longer holding onto him as he held Iruka's wrist.  
  
"I don't understand........." Iruka whispered as if still in shock at what Kakashi was talking about.  
  
"We need to stop this, Iruka." Kakashi added more force to his voice to make sure Iruka knew he wasn't joking or playing a game.  
  
"Stop what Kakashi." Iruka's voice made him seem as if he was out of breath and the dark haired teen could feel his heart beat against his chest at the distant way Kakashi was holding onto his wrist.  
  
"Stop us."  
  
"B.........but what are you talking about? Stop us? You just get back from some waste of time mission and now you sound like your breaking up with me!" Iruka tried not to shout as his voice rose.  
  
".................."  
  
"Oh kami............" Iruka pulled his arm out of Kakashi's grasp and let his back hit the wall as he stared at Kakashi searching for answers.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka, but I've been thinking and........."  
  
"WELL THEN STOP THINKING!" Iruka yelled as tears threatened to come from his eyes. Why was this happening to him now when he was finally happy? He had the best job in the world with a great class of kids, was it wrong to want the person you love to be with you too?  
  
"I mean what grounds do you have for this Kakashi!"  
  
"I........."  
  
"Are you unhappy, is there something wrong? You know every relationship hits a few bumps, it's about time our's does, right?" Iruka thought over there relationship as if trying to figure out somewhere he had gone wrong, maybe he had made the jounin mad at him or something and if it wasn't that then............had Kakashi found someone else?  
  
"No Iruka I........." Kakashi watched as Iruka's eyes widened and it looked like the younger man had just seen his whole life taken away from him. It was enough to make the jounin's already distraught heart break.  
  
"Is there someone else?" Iruka's voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at Kakashi. His back hitting the wall as he watched Kakashi's every movement as if this was a bad dream.  
  
Which in reality it wasn't far from being a very bad nightmare.  
  
One that neither of them would be able to wake up from.  
  
Kakashi's eyes just widened at this and shook his head mentally. The chunin knew better than that, Kakashi was loyal till the end no matter what circumstances.  
  
"No."  
  
"Were you just playing some game with me Kakashi, is that what this is? Or have you been lying to me for the whole time!" Iruka regained his balance and glared at Kakashi.  
  
".........I........."  
  
"STOP JOKING KAKASHI!" Iruka grabbed Kakashi's shirt only to be pushed roughly back into the wall and he felt a pain in his cheek as he looked up at Kakashi.  
  
"SHUT-UP IRUKA!" Kakashi held his hand. He didn't even realize he had slapped Iruka until he saw the tears fall down the chunins cheeks as betrayal flashed across Iruka's eyes. Kakashi's voice softened but Iruka still winced when he spoke. "I'm not joking Iruka. I'm being very serious. I can't continue this relationship with you."  
  
Iruka had to fight with all his strength so that he wouldn't break down in front of Kakashi right then and there. "Why?" was all he was able to whisper without his voice muffling.  
  
"Iruka I ........."  
  
"If you are going to leave me like this Kakashi-san, the least you owe me is an explanation." Iruka glared at the jounin with nothing but disdain for the man in front of him rolling off his voice.  
  
"I'm so sorry Iruka." Kakashi didn't mean for it to go like this. He wanted to end it and maybe they could hang out every now and then. But as the conversation kept on going it seemed his hopes were dieing down.  
  
"Don't give me that crap Kakashi!" Iruka wiped the tears he felt on his cheeks, he hadn't realized he was crying. His chest hurt and he couldn't tell why, the only thing he wanted was for this to end. "You owe me some kind of excuse! Tell me a lie if you have to, I mean you seem to be pretty good at that."  
  
Kakashi visibly flinched at Iruka's harsh words. Kakashi took in a deep breath he had to do this. He looked at Iruka form in front of him. The chunin was obviously about to fall to shambles and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to hug him and just forget what had happened but it was to late.  
  
The cut had already scarred.  
  
"I don't love you anymore Iruka." Kakashi could feel his insides shake as Iruka's face paled and the chunin's body slumped in the wall and slid onto the ground. "I d..........do not love you anymore." Kakashi repeated more for his sake than Iruka's.  
  
Kakashi watched as Iruka grew silent and the brown eyes seem to cloud. He was about to take a step toward the youth when the angered voice filled his ears.  
  
"Get out."  
  
"Iruka?" Kakashi whispered as Iruka started to visibly shake.  
  
"I said GET OUT!" Iruka yelled as he covered his face with his hands only to hear the sound of someone knocking at his door.  
  
Kakashi was about to go answer the door when Iruka suddenly wiped his eyes and ran to the door trying to look as normal as possible.  
  
"Hello?" Iruka kept his voice steady, as a shinobi with sunglasses looked him over skeptically. "Oh, hello Ebisu-san."  
  
"Iruka-sensei." Ebisu did a small nod. Iruka looked at the sky and was amazed at how dark it was. Did that much time really pass? He could see the moon hanging over Konoha and saw some Anbu run past his house as if in a rush. Did something happen?  
  
"Excuse me, but there has been an incident at the Uchiha estate. Hokage- sama orders every shinobi available at chunin rank and higher to report there immediately."  
  
"Thank you." Iruka nodded as Ebisu vanished before he turned around to see Kakashi standing there.  
  
"Iruka I..........."  
  
"No Kakashi." Iruka snapped at the jounin. "We have to go."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
It was horrible.  
  
Iruka covered his mouth to stifle the small gasp leaving his lips as he stared at the bodies. Blood everywhere. Iruka had to keep himself in control as he saw some of the kids from the academy lying on the ground motionless.  
  
This was too much for one day.  
  
Iruka had lost where Kakashi was once they had reached the Uchiha Estate as the smell of blood and death filled his nostrils. Some of these kids were in his classes. The argument had been on his mind until he had seen what had happened.  
  
The whole Uchiha clan seemed to have been massacred.  
  
Iruka made his way between the houses, forcing his way to the Main building he knew the Hokage would probably be in when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Iruka visibly flinched as he prayed it wasn't Kakashi when he heard a deep laugh that only belonged to one lavender haired man.  
  
"Mizuki?" Iruka turned around to confirm his suspicions as Mizuki pat him on the back.  
  
"Didn't mean to scare you Iruka, but Hokage wants everyone to look for survivors, okay?" Mizuki patted Iruka on the back again, was it just him or did Iruka look different? Maybe it was the fact that Iruka forgot to put his hair back in a ponytail as the dark hair framed his friends face.  
  
"Thanks." With that Iruka left his friend and walked towards on of the houses near the main building.  
  
The chunin stopped when at the sight of a little girl. She didn't appear to be old enough to be enrolled in the academy but her pale skin was stained with the crimson blood flowing from her neck.  
  
Iruka reached down a slid his fingers over the dark open eyes as if to apologize for her short life by closing them. Iruka now looked at the girl who was most likely clinging the stuff animal in her arms as she died. Iruka suppressed the tension in his throat as he moved on into the closest house.  
  
It was extremely dark in the house as Iruka entered through what seemed like the back door. Iruka took a step in and almost stumbled on something in the dark but he put his hand on the wall to prevent him from falling on to feel something wet and warm make contact with his fingers.  
  
Blood.  
  
Iruka kept the bile from rising to his throat as he wiped his hand and continued looking in the dark house that only seemed to be lighted by the bright moon.  
  
Who could have done this?  
  
Iruka came into an open area, probably the living room the chunin thought before he stepped on something that made the sound of paper. He looked down and sure enough it a piece of paper with a drawing on it. Iruka picked it up only to feel tears come to his eyes.  
  
"Sasuke and aniki." Iruka read out loud. This is the picture Sasuke had drawn this morning in class.  
  
Sasuke. This was the boy's house! Iruka walked around more urgently. Surely the boy survived right? The kid was a great student and even had a shurinken throwing class with Mizuki.  
  
To Iruka's dismay he walked in one room to see two bodies lying on top of each other. They looked close to mutilated as Iruka turned his stare away. It looked like there was some kind of fight at least. Iruka was about to turn around when he heard some very soft noise.  
  
A whimper?  
  
Iruka walked into the room dropping the piece of paper he still had in his hands and walked over to the source. Iruka's heart jumped at the sight in front of him.  
  
Sasuke was lying on the ground with his eyes wide open as if he couldn't close them. Tears were falling freely down onto the floor as muffled sobs and stifled screams escaped he boy's lips.  
  
"Kami! Sasuke!" Iruka went over to the boy and lifted him into his arms. "Sasuke! Sasuke it's going to be okay!"  
  
Iruka ran out of the house, as he was sure the other bodies were dead and ran to the Hokage. Sasuke had to be okay! This day was already dark enough.  
  
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka appeared before the man and didn't bother doing a bow before he put Sasuke down on the ground.  
  
"Get the medic team over here." The Hokage ordered as he put the pipe in his mouth. "Iruka?"  
  
"He's Uchiha Sasuke, age seven, he's a student in one of the classes I teach." Iruka tried to think of anything else the Hokage might need to know. "And he's............an orphan."  
  
"I see." The Hokage's eyes darkened as he walked over to the boy performing some kind of jitsu Iruka didn't know before the boy's eyes closed and his breathing evened out. "That should work for now............"  
  
Iruka looked down at the boy, as the tear stained cheeks seemed even paler than the boy's natural skin color.  
  
"Who would do something like this?" Iruka muttered under his breath before some Anbu appeared around them.  
  
"Take him to the hospital, I will be there shortly." The Hokage ordered as all the Anbu nodded.  
  
"Aniki........." Sasuke whispered catching Iruka's attention. "Why?"  
  
Iruka watched as everyone vanished leaving him and the Hokage. Another Anbu approached slowly as if unsure catching Iruka's attention. Iruka knew that hair, that body, and even the mask itself seemed familiar.  
  
"Hokage-sama." The silver haired Anbu didn't even glance towards Iruka as the chunin looked away causing the Hokage to raise an eyebrow. "We have confirmed that there are no other survivors and that Uchiha Itachi is missing."  
  
"Iruka." The Hokage gained the chunin teacher's attention and gave the young man a small nod. "You can go."  
  
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Iruka did a small bow and turned to leave making one last glance at Kakashi in his new Anbu uniform before he walked.  
  
Kakashi took one glance at Iruka's disappearing figure before he turned to the Hokage. The Hokage gave him a sad glance before they both sighed.  
  
"You will meet your team at the South exit in the morning." The Hokage blew smoke from his pipe. "It will be a four man squad, the squad leader will have all the information you need."  
  
"Yes Hokage-sama." Kakashi nodded and was about to leave when he paused causing the Hokage to wait for the Anbu to speak. "Hokage-sama........."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Itachi?" Kakashi looked as the Hokage's eyes darkened.  
  
"Yes."  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Iruka walked into his house as the clouds rolled above Konoha. It looked as if it was going to start raining any moment.  
  
It was already past dawn.  
  
School had been canceled for most likely the rest of the week not that Iruka cared as he had just gotten back from the Uchiha estate. He sighed as his exhausted body begged for sleep. Iruka was about to go straight to him room to avoid Kakashi in case the slivered haired man had arrived before he had when he noticed a white paper on the table.  
  
Iruka walked over to it emotionally drained from the night before and looked down to see nothing on the paper besides Kakashi's signature and the Anbu's house key.  
  
Iruka head hurt from lack of sleep, his chest heart as he felt his heart break as everything that had been happening dawned on him.  
  
Iruka ran to Kakashi's room with all the strength he had left to see and empty room with nothing but a dresser and bed. The chunin gasped as he felt tears fall to the ground and he fell on his knees. The exhausted chunin tried to hold back the sobs as he realized the truth.  
  
Kakashi was gone.  
  
Iruka could still smell the old blood from the night on his cloths as he tried to gain control. This was too much to handle, where had he gone wrong? Was this a punishment for something he had done wrong in a previously life, or maybe a bad prank when he was a kid?  
  
Iruka taught six of the Uchiha children ranging in a variety of ages while the school had some more. The clan wasn't small even if it didn't compare to the Hyuga's clan in size it was still big for a clan that held such a strong ability. Those students wouldn't be coming back............if it was possible more tears flowed down Iruka's cheeks.  
  
As far as he knew Sasuke was the only survivor and there was a good chance the boy was going to have psychological problems.  
  
Iruka grasped the key he still held in his hand as if it could take him away from this reality. Iruka needed to get away.  
  
With that thought in mind the sobs quieted down as the chunin finally fell into a needed sleep in his now empty visitor's room.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Kakashi walked towards the exit he was supposed to meet the team he was going to be working with despite how tired he was due to the events that happened that night. There was a jolt of lightning across the sky as if signaling danger to all of it's onlookers but the silver haired shinobi kept on walking.  
  
Kakashi saw three people chatting quietly before he sighed. One of them he knew, Hayate, he thought it was. The shinobi always seemed like he was the carrier for some disease but with that in mind he was still a talented shinobi, at least on the missions they had shared.  
  
There was a woman with shoulder length dark hair. Kakashi had seen her around Hayate a few times but didn't really know much about her and next to her stood a tall man with dirty blonde hair Kakashi couldn't recognize him at all.  
  
Well since he had been taking solo missions or missions with Gai recently it wasn't that big of a surprise.  
  
Kakashi stopped a little short of the group as Hayate waved and the woman giggled. The tall man looked over a Kakashi with kind brown eyes that reminded the jounin of Iruka. Suddenly Kakashi felt a sting in his chest but ignored it and put on his bored nature as he stepped into the group.  
  
"Kakashi-san." Hayate coughed looking like he was suffering form a major hang over.  
  
"Hayate." Kakashi curved his one visible eye.  
  
"Well Kakashi-san you can call me Yume." The dark haired girl winked at him before smiling. "We should be going, ne?"  
  
"Yes." The tallest of the group smiled. Another clash of lighting and thunder roared throughout Konoha causing the dirty blonde haired ninja to smile at the sky. "We should head off before it rains."  
  
Kakashi looked up at him a bit surprised since the jounin was already six feet it was weird actually having to tilt his head a bit to see the man's eyes. The man looked straight back at Kakashi with a trusting smiled before he put his hand out for Kakashi to shake.  
  
"I'm Obito by the way."  
  
And then it rained.  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
Well? *smirk* Funny thing about Obito is..........he really is in the manga! I was rereading some of the chapters with the flashbacks when I saw where Kakashi mentioned this Obito character and realized I haven't had him in the story just yet, nor have I had a relationship with this unnamed dark haired girl nor Hayate!  
  
And I hope I didn't do bad with the break up scene because I didn't have anything to really go off when I wrote it! Please tell me how you feel!  
  
Well here are the replies to my favorite thing...........REVIEWS!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`Reviews'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'` '`'`'`'``'`'`'`  
  
TheTrueSilver: Well.........he's not so much losing another precious person in death as he is losing the only thing that got him through his rough childhood and his first and only love..........man I suck! IM SORRY IRUKA! But in the end I do it for the story! I'm sure you will forgive by the end of this *hugs her scarecrow plushie*.  
  
Silver Neo: That is the cutest thing I've ever seen....... @ _\\ ............it doesn't look the same but that is still a very cute Kakashi impression. I hope you don't kill Kakashi just yet since well.........I need to use him...........*stares at Kakashi*...........more so I need to use him and Iruka......*stares at Iruka and Kakashi hugging*.............hehehehehe come to me my muses! And you huggled me! And Naruto huggled me! *huggles back* I love you guys!  
  
Hikari of Darkness: I hope I keep updating fast enough to your liking *grins* and I'm sorry but I had to break them up but don't worry it will............if my muses allow.........work out in the end but that's still a what if because Kishimoto might decided to kill one of them off and then this story will end sad but since I don't think he is planning on doing that I'm sure the happy ending is safe.  
  
Renn: Don't cry! *sniffles* I hate it when people cry it always makes me feel like I was responsible................oh wait...........Hehehe I guess in this case I am........*smiles* please don't cry?  
  
Kami Beverly: Why thank you!! I hear if you get called something more than five times a day then it is true so apparently I'm evil *smirk* I guess that can give an excuse to be even more cruel to Iruka-kun *laughs evilly until Iruka appears and gives her sad puppy dog eyes* I'm sorry I didn't mean it Iruka! I love you!  
  
Kakashi_Suka: I don't think you act weird *takes a step back* I'm glad you like me and my story! I'm not sure if it is the best though but since you say so I will let my ego raise a few levels *smiles* We can be friends, I talk to many ppl from fanfiction. It is nice to meet you Suka and no your not weird your just very creative! I hope you continue to come back to my story and remind me about your birthday whenever it comes closer so that I might be able to dedicate something to you. I'm a girl too and I'm 17! I really enjoyed reading your review and I hope you continue to review for me and such because it's nice talking to you.  
  
Dtamerx: I hope this chapter was as fulfilling as last one............I'm not sure if I have any fluff in this one but not to worry because fluff will come and so will some more angst. *laughs evilly* Thanks for the review.  
  
Princess Razu: I'm sorry but I had to let Kakashi do it! I had to for the plot but don't worry if all my reviews are really good I might be able to get them back together quicker.........just kidding but don't worry they will be back together it just might take a while and a few stunts to make it work *laughs*.  
  
karen: I hope you like the story this far since you reviewed for chapter one and all! And I know about the sensei and teacher mistakes in that chapter it's just that I keep forgetting to go back and change (since I already thought I did *sigh*) well keep reviewing!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: *rubs behind* I can't believe you gave me the 10 years of pain........but hey I updated *shakes arms defensively* please don't hurt the authoress anymore! I hope you like my little cliffies because I love ending stories that way!! Thanks for the review please do so again!  
  
eyes0nme19: I hope you liked this chapter!  
  
Ash of Mine: I'm sorry I ended it right there but you have to admit it added to the suspense! I'm glad you have faith in me *stares at all the Naruto characters* because I'm sure they don't. And yes everything will be alright when *mumbles mumbles* and then *mumble cough mumble* So don't worry!  
  
Jenn: Hey by any chance are you related to Renn? (just kidding about the name thing *laughs at her own joke*) Well to tell the truth Kakashi isn't thinking much right now but he will be soon. Hehehe  
  
Lady Geuna: I'm glad you liked my version of the characters when they were younger and yes Kakashi is a punk but don't take it out on him because I made him do it through my typing! It has been a long relationship with them which is why it was really hard to write this chapter......I just don't understand Iruka's feelings well enough to portray them *sigh* but I will get better!  
  
'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`'``'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'''`'`'`'`'`***'`'`'`'`'`' ``'`'`'`  
  
Please Review! And have a nice week! 


	17. So Ugly It's Cute

I don't own Naruto I would hope you all understand that by now!  
  
Sorry it took so long to update but I had AP exams and I probably won't get the next chapter out until the second week of June because that's when school finally ends! woohoo  
  
This chapter is dedicated to everyone's favorite chunin sensei who is celebrating his birthday today! I hope you all have a great day full of Iruka plushies!  
  
Now enjoy this chapter!  
  
Enjoy!  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Chapter 17: So Ugly It's Cute  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"Hey Mizuki........." Iruka yawned as he entered the classroom where Mizuki was sitting at his desk.  
  
"Whoa! You look like crap!" Mizuki stood up as Iruka just looked at him.  
  
The dark haired chunin sensei obviously hadn't been getting enough sleep with the dark bags that were forming under his eyes. The string that looked like it had gotten pulled was barely holding up Iruka's ponytail, and even while Iruka gave Mizuki one of his grins the lavender haired chunin noticed how disgruntled Iruka's outfit was.  
  
"Heh.........the kids were really excited to see me at the playground now that school is back up it seems." Iruka had a small blush on his cheeks and Mizuki smirked. "They tried to ambush me and I would have gotten out easily but they accidentally got some of the younger children trapped so......."  
  
"So you went through all the trouble to make sure no one was harmed yadda yadda.............man I still don't see how you got to be the favorite sensei." Mizuki pouted.  
  
"Well maybe the kids just would rather learn from you and play with me." Iruka tried to console his friend but then the bell rang and kids came pouring in through the halls.  
  
Iruka looked up at his first class of the day..............four seats were empty he noted as he realized that some of his students wouldn't be coming back.  
  
The whole Uchiha clan, the most powerful clan in Konoha, was wiped out.  
  
"Iruka-sensei?" Iruka looked over at one of his female student who was giving him a worried look.  
  
"Yes Kimiko-chan?" Iruka snapped himself from his daze and gave his full attention to the girl.  
  
"Why was school out for so long?" The small girl smiled brightly at her teacher causing Iruka to sigh.  
  
"What did your parents tell you?" Iruka looked around the room to see some of the kids chatting.  
  
"My dad said that something bad happened and that we were taking the time to mourn though I don't really understand since all my friends are here." The boy who had spoken hugged the guy next to him.  
  
"My mom said that there was someone dangerous loose and we needed to stay inside for our own safety." A girl in that back of the class rose her voice.  
  
Iruka watched as all of his students started to talk amongst themselves before he felt a small tug on his vest.  
  
"Iruka-sensei?" The girl Kimiko from before looked up at him.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where is Mina-chan? My mom said something about her family but why isn't Mina-chan here?" Kimiko looked at the other desks. "And her cousins Uchiha Taki and Rei-san are gone too. Did they move?"  
  
"No Kimiko-chan they didn't move, there was an incident." Iruka waited for his class to calm down before he would explain what happened. The Hokage a briefed the teachers on exactly what to tell the children, Iruka closed his eyes and took a breath.  
  
"I'm afraid that Mina, Taki, and Rei will not be in class anymore."  
  
'''''''''''''''''''  
  
"So what's the mission oh fearless leader?" Kakashi didn't bother hiding the sarcasm in his voice as they sat in a small room they had set up in for the night.  
  
"Kakashi-san! Show respect to Obito-senpai!" The dark haired girl yelled before Hayate grabbed her arm.  
  
"That's just the way Kakashi is Sayaka." Hayate coughed. Kakashi raised his eyebrow at this and looked over at the girl.  
  
"Sayaka? I thought you said your name was Yume?"  
  
"Hehehe.............."  
  
At that time Obito moved across the room to sit next to Kakashi and brought out the scroll the Hokage had given him.  
  
"Sayaka-chan tends to change her name randomly whenever she finds another one she likes, it's rather childish but she is still a great shinobi." Obito smirked at the blushing girl before he looked at Kakashi. "And to answer your question Kakashi I guess I would have to explain some things."  
  
At this all the three shinobi around Obito lifted their heads.  
  
"As you know we have several shinobi throughout all of the territories as spies, bounty hunters, ambassadors, anything. Well I'm sure the Hokage informed you how he felt about something was about to happen since he told me so, it turned out the Hokage was waited to gain information from one of our spies but one spy has gone missing for two weeks." Obito paused to and looked around encouraging them all to ask questions.  
  
"Whose the spy and what where they investigating?" Hayate spoke calmly thought the coughed a few times after he finished the sentence.  
  
Obito just nodded before opening his eyes at Kakashi. "I believe you would know him better than all of us Kakashi, after all I believed you have already rescued him from a few missions in the past."  
  
Kakashi paused for a moment before sighing. "He got caught again? I swear he does it on purpose."  
  
Hayate just mumbled in agreement before he started coughing and got up to go get some water leaving his three friends in the room.  
  
"More or less I would say he sounds like a masochist." Sayaka just scooted over closer to Obito who just smiled at her. "Why do we have to go save this guy? It's obvious to me that he seems pretty weak."  
  
"Actually, when you meet him you might be surprised." Kakashi did a small grin under his mask when he noticed his statement got their attention. "He's probably not captured at all and just playing a game."  
  
"That sounds more like more like Morino Ibiki." Hayate came back and sat down next to Sayaka and looked over at Kakashi. "He probably has something useful for this mission."  
  
"So why are we saving this guy?" Sayaka laughed as if trying to make a joke. "I mean we don't know what our real mission is just yet."  
  
"Che, because to leave a comrade is low, even for you Sayaka-chan." Obito gave the girl a small look causing the girl to bite her bottom lip before his eyes softened. "But after we get Ibiki-san and send him back to the village are next mission will be to track down that Itachi character."  
  
"Itachi........." The girl seemed sad for a moment before Hayate nudged her and she smiled at him. "I guess that's why we were teamed up."  
  
"Hm?" Kakashi looked over at her to see if she would explain. He personally didn't know who Sayaka or Obito were and knew that Hayate was more for the spy missions but he just figured the Hokage had put more trust in these individuals instead of having an actual reason to assign them together.  
  
"Yeah." Obito agreed. "I guess we each have our own job to do in this mission."  
  
"Which are?" Kakashi kept his impassive voice in check. Why beat around the bush when everyone could just say what they wanted out loud. This was probably the last chance they had to do so since tomorrow they would be on the enemy's territory.  
  
"Well I am here because I would probably be able to infiltrate into the enemy's land the quickest without being noticed." Hayate coughed with a smug grin. "Not that the infamous Copy Cat ninja couldn't do the same."  
  
Kakashi grinned under his mask before he looked at Obito.  
  
"I am here because I am a tracker. I am the Anbu squad leader for squad 8, so maybe the Hokage also thought it would be good for me to be the leader." Obito looked over at Kakashi sliding his hand through his dirty blonde hair before grinning.  
  
A leader would ultimately be the rise or the fall of his team, Kakashi thought, obviously Hokage-sama had a lot of faith in this Obito character.  
  
"And I'm here because we are going after Itachi........." Sayaka spoke softly before she looked at everyone. "I was trained by him so I will be able to help Obito-senpai track him more efficiently."  
  
"You don't seem to happy about that." Kakashi stated flatly receiving a glare from the dark haired girl.  
  
"What are you implying?" Sayaka kept her tone low in a threatening matter.  
  
"I was just wondering if you are capable of this mission." Kakashi gave his straightforward answer causing the girl to jump up as if she was about to hit him before Obito stopped her.  
  
"Sayaka stop it now." His deep voice seemed to carry more power Kakashi hadn't noticed before. Obito turned towards Kakashi and with a friendly grin continued. "And Kakashi-san I would hope you aren't trying to imply Hokage-sama was wrong in who he assigned in this mission, because a team is only as strong as the trust they put in each other."  
  
Kakashi paused before said anything and took a good look at the team. Hayate he would trust with his life, they have known each other for quite a while and Kakashi knew better than to underestimate the spy, Sayaka seemed suspicious but Obito was right. Kakashi needed to trust the Hokage's choice or the mission would be a failure and Kakashi wasn't one to allow his assigned missions to fail.  
  
"And don't forget Sayaka you are our link to Konoha while we are searching since it would be easier to go in and out without being noticed." Hayate coughed a few times bringing a blush on the girl's cheeks.  
  
Kakashi gave her a glance over when she startled him by smirking.  
  
"You know Kakashi-san, I was trained by the stealthiest shinobi in Konoha you would think I would learn a few things." Sayaka glared at him as if to doubt her talent again but Kakashi didn't show any emotion and instead he sighed until he heard some soft laughter not to far.  
  
Kakashi turned his glance over to Obito. Who was this guy? He was sure that if Obito was part of the Anbu then he would know something about the guy but then again Kakashi didn't know much about squad 8, mainly because he was too busy with his own missions to bother, which didn't seem like Kakashi at all.  
  
"And why do you suggest the Hokage chose you for this mission Kakashi-san?" Obito interrupted the silver haired ninja's thoughts as Kakashi looked at all of them.  
  
"Why?" Kakashi lifted his hand over his forehead protector and grimaced though no one noticed since his mask covered the majority of his face. "I believe Hokage-sama feels I'm the only who has a chance to kill the brat."  
  
"Why would he think that?" Sayaka said arrogantly causing Kakashi to grin under his mask.  
  
"If you don't know why now then I am sure you will find out later." Kakashi gave her a bored glare before he stood up with the rest of his companions. "I call first shift of night guard duty."  
  
"Sure." Obito laughed calmly before Sayaka hit him.  
  
"Obito-senpai! Why don't you just beat the crap out of this guy and save us all the trouble of having to listen to his ego for the rest of the trip!" Sayaka glared at Kakashi.  
  
"Sayaka-chan, just because you are the youngest member on this team doesn't mean you can act like it now lets go rest, you can have the next shift of duty." Obito took one last glance at Kakashi. "And besides I know who to pick my fights with, and I don't want to fight him."  
  
"But you're an Anbu squad leader and the oldest member on this team. I bet you could take him." Sayaka then yawned and headed towards her spot. "I mean is the Copy Cat ninja really that strong?"  
  
Obito watched her leave and had a small grin on his face before he to went to his spot to sleep. The team wasn't so bad but he was surprised to hear the Hokage say that Kakashi was on his team. He had only heard rumors of the Copy Cat ninja and even seen him a few times in the village but this was his first chance to work with the legend.  
  
Obito gave a toothy grin as he thought of the chance he might get to see Kakashi in battle but soon shook his head. A leader should never wish battle on his team he should only wish for their safety.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka ran down the street as fast as his legs could take him as the sun started to rise above the Hokage monument. He needed to get as far from his dreams as possible and running seemed like the only choice.  
  
Last night he had come home to discover it empty again. It wasn't that he believed Kakashi was going to just show up out of the blue and then everything would go back to how it was, it was just that Iruka couldn't get away from the memories. As soon as he stepped in his house he remembered his parents, like when they celebrated Christmas or he would remember Kakashi, remember the times he would fall asleep on the couch and Kakashi would carry him to his bed. He would try to avoid the memories and go straight to bed but it seemed they even haunted him in his sleep.  
  
Iruka's legs wobbled a bit as he realized he was already on his third lap around Konoha, it wasn't that he was physically tired due to the fact that all shinobi should be able to run at least five laps around the huge village but that he was emotionally drained.  
  
"It's been almost a month!" Iruka slammed his fist into the nearest tree and sighed. He wasn't the violent type. Iruka sighed as the sweat ran down his face and dripped of his chin before he wiped his forehead with his arm.  
  
"Iruka-sensei?" Iruka was startled as he turned his head a bit to see a boy with thick eyebrows and long eyelashes staring at him.  
  
The boy was in one of his classes that he had taught for a few weeks when the teacher left on a mission. He had peach skin and a bowl cut that flipped out at the end until it was tied into a long and think ponytail behind the boy's head.  
  
"Rock Lee-kun? What are you doing out here so early?" Iruka smiled down at the boy who smiled back up.  
  
"I'm looking for a place I can train!" The boy through his fist in the air. "I will show those kids who has no talent!"  
  
Iruka bit his lip as he looked at the boy. If he remembered correctly this kid had no talent in any of the fields of being a ninja, and yet to have so much passion to train..........  
  
"Iruka-sensei you look sad." Iruka brought his attention back to the 'so- ugly-its-cute' boy in front of him.  
  
"Huh?" Iruka shook his head at the unintelligent response he just gave. "I mean what are you talking about Lee-kun?"  
  
"You need to let go." The boy replied with a straight face causing Iruka to go wide-eyed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's what my parents tell me whenever I feel sad, I need to let go of whatever is causing the tears because smiles are much more easier to bare!" The boy smiled at Iruka before he started to walk off in another direction.  
  
"What was that?" Iruka mumbled to himself as he watched the boy go off. Was it just him or did that boy look a lot like Gai?  
  
Iruka looked up to see the sun had already risen and smiled. Today was Sunday so that meant no school, which Iruka was very thankful for since he currently had many other things on his mind. Iruka slowly started walking back to his house with a small grin on his face.  
  
"So all I have to do is let go, Lee-kun?" Iruka put his arms behind his head and looked at the sky. "Maybe your right."  
  
The sun scattered across the village as the clouds slowly moved blocking its light from its destination. The cherry trees had already lost their pedals minus one that refused to let go of spring. The children in the park ran around the tree screaming and laughing until they were called to go eat lunch.  
  
One boy stood watching the tree in the breeze as his blonde hair moved along with the branches. The boy sighed silently wishing he could hold onto time just as the tree was able to keep spring for a moment longer the boy wished for time to freeze, the blond child touched the goggles on his head before he sat on the swing attached to the stubborn tree and slowly began rocking back and forth.  
  
His legs started to push him higher as he got closer and closer to the clouds in the sky. Some day he would be able to get higher. Someday he would be able to grasp what hope that this very cherry tree held onto and soar.  
  
One day he would fly.  
  
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka walked into the assignment room he knew the Hokage would be at during this time of day. "Hokage-sa........."  
  
"Iruka."  
  
"Wah!" Iruka grabbed his chest as he smiled sheepishly at the old man behind him.  
  
"Yes, Iruka-sensei? Is there something I can do for you?" the Hokage smirked as Iruka blushed. Some ninja he proved to be and what was with the Hokage sneaking behind him like that!  
  
"Umm, yes actually I would like to change my address." Iruka gave a small grin as the Hokage gave him a small doubtful look.  
  
"Hm?" The Hokage puffed on his pipe a bit before giving Iruka a serious glance. "Is there something wrong with your house?"  
  
"Uh, no I was just meaning to move. I found a small apartment near the school and decided that would be more convenient then having to take care of a house that I am hardly at anyway." Iruka put his hand behind his head and smiled. "And I think it's about time I finally let go, don't you?"  
  
"What is the meaning of all of this so suddenly Iruka?" The Hokage inhaled his pipe before sighing. "And after you went through all that trouble to keep the house after your parents passed away."  
  
"I know Hokage-sama it's just........." Iruka paused before he gave a bitter smile. "It's just that it is full of too many memories."  
  
"I'm sure they are all good memories." The Hokage smiled as he remembered Iruka's parents and even Kakashi, all were very good people.  
  
"That's the problem, its hard to move on from something you wished you still had when everything around you just keeps pulling you back." Iruka looked at the Hokage with a serious expression. "I think it's about time I grew up and let go of the memories so I can finally make some new ones."  
  
The Hokage nodded before he grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to Iruka.  
  
You're growing up Iruka-kun.   
  
"You know what to do. Just fill out the paper and give it too Fukui-san and everything should be set."  
  
"Thank you Hokage-sama!" Iruka smiled and did a small bow before he headed towards the station Fukui was at.  
  
The Hokage just smiled before he looked at all the missions that still needed to be assigned today.  
  
Hmm.........maybe I should check to see how the new genin teams are doing?   
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi followed Obito as they walked towards the area Morino Ibiki had last been seen disappearing into very carefully. As they approached they didn't hear or see any signs of life coming from the building causing Kakashi to doubt if they were at the right location.  
  
Hayate appeared right beside Kakashi and sighed. "You wont believe this."  
  
"Why, what's going on?" Kakashi asked quietly and Obito listened in as Sayaka soon appeared right beside Hayate.  
  
"He's standing in the middle of the courtyard and there are no shinobi around here beside us. I thought he was captured?" Sayaka looked at Obito for an explanation but the leader just shrugged.  
  
"Well, we still need our information from him so lets go get it." And with that the four disappeared reappearing in front of a man wearing a torn jacket and a black bandana over his head. He had two scars on his face and his eyes seemed to be very cold as he just stared at them.  
  
"Your late." Ibiki spoke coldly before Kakashi sighed.  
  
"No we aren't, your just early you sadist." Ibiki looked over at Kakashi with a glint of amusement in his eyes before he smiled.  
  
"What happened to the people who captured you?" Sayaka spoke up as she gave the man a suspicious look.  
  
"I was getting bored waiting for you guys to come so I had a little fun. Nothing big, I didn't kill more than three so you don't worry about it." Ibiki looked over at Obito. "I have information for your mission but I will only tell you."  
  
"Understood." Came Obito's calm reply as he and Ibiki disappeared so they could be out of hearing range.  
  
"Why I oughta!" Sayaka fumed as she held her breath trying to contain the anger of being cut off like that.  
  
"Calm down Sayaka-chan." Hayate coughed a few times before glancing at Kakashi. "I wonder what he did to make all the men leave him behind?"  
  
"Really because I don't." Kakashi said half jokingly before Obito appeared by them again but Ibiki was nowhere near.  
  
"Okay guys, time to head out." Obito gave a toothy grin. "Ibiki already left, he said we should leave soon too because those men are most likely going to come back."  
  
"What did he say?" Hayate jumped on a tree branch so that they could start traveling quicker.  
  
"Our first place to look will be the neutral village a long the valley of the waves. That is the last spot anyone has seen a shinobi that resembles Itachi, from what I hear the Uchiha is avoiding a lot of people so he is moving more slowly. We should be able to find him quicker than anticipated." Obito gave a look towards Kakashi.  
  
"Seeing as long as we don't hit any bumps along the way." Obito's toothy grin made Kakashi smile under his mask. This guy was really looking forward to fighting.  
  
"To the land of the waves it is!" Sayaka smiled as they all vanished in the air.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka admired his small one room apartment as he moved his last box to the kitchen table. It was a lot smaller than he had originally thought it was going to be but having the kitchen and the living room attach wasn't so bad. He was a single male teacher after all and didn't take up a lot of room.  
  
He had sent all of his parents valuables to storage where he would eventually have to go through it all when he had a break but in the mean time he had sold his house to small business organization that were looking for a new place to call their headquarters and were more than glad to pay for double what Iruka was asking.  
  
The chunin sensei stifled a yawn as he looked at the time. He better head to the school now so that he could be there an hour before the kids giving him plenty of time to plan the day's schedule.  
  
Iruka tied his hair up with a string and placed his hitai-ate leaf headband over his tanned forehead. He zipped his vest and smiled in the mirror as a tint of pink came across his cheeks slightly flushing his scar.  
  
"I feel ridiculous but Lee-kun was right." Iruka smiled contently. "Maybe the reason I became a teacher was so that I could learn just as from these kids as I teach them in class."  
  
With that thought in his head Iruka grabbed his clipboard and made his way of the door not noticing the calendar that laid on the floor with that Monday circled in read indicating it was a day of some importance.  
  
Iruka couldn't help but feel like everything was going his way today. The air was great and from the looks of the sky it was going to be a clear day with no clouds. Iruka started to feel slightly sorry for Nara Shikamaru, a kid in his class that had written only one thing on there last test.  
  
It was 'I wish I was a cloud.'  
  
Iruka made his way down the hallways taking note in how all of the other classrooms seemed to be missing their teachers but he just pushed it to the back of his head as he opened the door to his class to end up dropping his clipboard at the sight in front of him.  
  
All the female teachers were occupying the desks his students would normally be in and were all smiling at him with a strange glint in their eyes. Iruka blushed immediately at the sight and started to say something but when nothing came out he just picked up his clipboard and stared at the floor as he made his way to his desk.  
  
Iruka heard a small giggle from the female teachers and decided to take a quick glance at them only to have his face flush up again as one of them go up and walked over to him.  
  
"Iruka-sensei." The woman spoke in a low voice as she got really close to him.  
  
"Huh, w.........w.........ww......hat! I emanhdsi!" Iruka paused as all the teachers laughed seemingly delighted how baffled the young teacher was. "I mean yes?"  
  
"I-ru-ka." The teacher repeated before she put both her hands on the wall so Iruka was stuck in-between her and the wall. "I was wondering if you could do something for me?"  
  
Oh kami! Iruka blushed even deeper as he saw how all he other teachers were staring at him to see how he was going to react. What are they up to?   
  
"Y...y...yes!" Iruka blurted out causing his voice to break in the process making the teacher trapping him smirk.  
  
"Close your eyes sensei." She spoke softly into his ear causing Iruka to shudder.  
  
"W...w...why?" Iruka jumped up startling the female teachers.  
  
"Please?" The female teachers in the background asked making Iruka look at them disbelievingly.  
  
"Umm, listen guys I don't know what's going on but," Iruka gulped as all of them glared at him. "I'm sorry but I really don't see any of you this way."  
  
All the women just smiled and a few laughed out loud causing Iruka to get flustered. What was going on?  
  
"Shut up sensei!" The teacher in front of him got his attention. "Now be a good boy and close your eyes!"  
  
Iruka giving up on fighting what ever was going to happen squeezed his eyes shut and started praying. Well if they were going to do anything vulgar it wouldn't last long since school was going to start soon and if they planned on killing him this was a very awkward way in doing it!  
  
"Okay open your eyes now Iruka!" Iruka hesitantly opened his eyes even though he heard all the women shout it.  
  
Iruka gaped at the sight before him. All the female teachers were around a small cake that had a few candles on it and a few were holding some presents.  
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRUKA!"  
  
So all he had to was let go...............Iruka smiled as he hugged a few of his coworkers. He should definitely take advice from kids more often.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
I would love to reply to all of reviews but I am currently in a rush so I will respond to them next update or put it on it this chapter later!! Please review and tell me hoe you felt about this chapter!  
  
in a rush sorry but I really have to go now! Happy Birthday Iruka-kun!  
  
I hope you all have a great week! 


	18. Hard Reality

''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"People are going to write fanfics about your fanfics." Quote K-chan  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Oi! I'm alive and I don't own Naruto!!  
  
I just started a job at a movie theater! It's called Regal Cinemas so yeah.............I am having a great time working there and all!!  
  
I still have a little bit of school left so sorry about the delay; I thought that I would be able to update this by Wed. but apparently not! I end school Tues. so that means I should be able to start getting chapters out earlier and I might be able to finish this story by the end of the month!!  
  
But then again nothing ever goes my way......I thought that this story would be at the max 16 chapters but obviously not! laughs I hope everyone is having a great week and here is Chapter 18!! I am almost at 200 reviews!! YAY!  
  
Enjoy!  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Chapter 18: Hard Reality  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi stared at the cup of warm sake in front of him. The mission was going nowhere quickly, it seemed that Itachi was always a step ahead, and on top of that they had to send Sayaka back to Konoha so she could give the Hokage all of the updates. Kakashi traced the rim of the cup with his thumb............Iruka would be mad if found out he was drinking.  
  
Iruka.........  
  
Kakashi threw his head back to make the liquid go down quicker before he put the cup back on the windowsill. Why should he care if Iruka was going to mad at him? It wasn't like they were together anymore.........  
  
Kakashi let his body slump so now he was sitting on the floor with his elbows on the windowsill; the team was currently occupying an old house that hadn't been lived in for quite sometime. Kakashi thought it was a waste since the house itself was very homely looking.  
  
It was a tall two story wooden house on the outskirts of Regal; a small village in the Mist country; but it was still close enough that it was just a short walk to the village. The yard was almost made completely of trees and a pond making the house nearly hidden for anyone passing buy without taking any time to look at there surroundings. It was the perfect place to camp for a few days until Sayaka got back.  
  
Kakashi sighed as he poured some more sake in his cup and continued to stare out the window. There were a few knocks on the door before Kakashi lifted his mask and waited for Obito to open the door. Obito walked in quietly and sat down beside Kakashi before he turned his attention from the window Kakashi was staring out of and looking at the silver haired ninja.  
  
"Something on your mind?" Obito gave a small smile, causing Kakashi to give him a lazy glare.  
  
"Not that it is any of your business right?" Kakashi voice was impassive but Obito just shrugged.  
  
"Just trying to be friendly." Obito's face seemed to somber as he turned his head and stared out the same window Kakashi was just a few seconds ago. "The sky is really beautiful tonight."  
  
"Yeah." Kakashi mumbled taking his eyes off the dirty blond beside him and looking at the stars. "It reminds me a bit of how Konoha looks at night."  
  
"Are you homesick?" Obito stifled a playful laugh as Kakashi just hardened his eyes at the sky.  
  
"No."  
  
Obito was about to continue but the harshness in Kakashi's voice kept him from doing so. He watched at how Kakashi watched the stars with no hint of emotion going across his face, Obito smirked as he wondered what was really going through the silver haired ninja's head.  
  
"You answered that quickly." Obito didn't take his eyes off of Kakashi. "Is there something you're hiding from out here that is back home in Konoha?"  
  
Kakashi started considering the pros and cons of pulling down his mask. He wanted sake but Obito was in the room and would see his face, thus defeating the purpose of there being a mask in the first place.  
  
Obito seemed to decide for Kakashi as he grabbed Kakashi's sake bottle and closed it before grinning at Kakashi. "A drunken ninja isn't very helpful on a mission."  
  
Kakashi just glared at the dirty blond team leader.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Obito started to make conversation again. "Hayate is asleep."  
  
"And?" Kakashi didn't bother to hide his disinterest and continued to stare out the window. Sometimes Kakashi would rather just be by himself and be able to sort his thoughts out but it was kind of hard to do that when there was someone else in the room.  
  
Thus defeating the 'by himself' part.  
  
"Hey I was just trying to make conversation you know? You don't have to be such a pain in the-"  
  
"Sorry, it's just a habit."  
  
Obito stared at the form beside him. Did the infamous Copy Cat Kakashi apologize to him? Since when did this guy who had been acting like a jerk since they left on the mission actually develop a humane side?  
  
Obito pinched his arm causing Kakashi to look at him with a bit of an annoyed expression.  
  
"Haha, sorry I was just making sure I wasn't dreaming." Obito scratched the back of his head before he glanced out the window. "So what's with the depressing atmosphere your giving off?"  
  
Kakashi gave Obito a bored glance before he looked out the window. "Do you think that someone in Konoha could be looking at the same stars we are looking at right now?"  
  
"I guess, I mean the constellations shifted a bit because we traveled but these are pretty much the same stars." Obito smiled. "Why is there someone you're thinking of specifically?"  
  
"No." Kakashi answered in his usually bored tone. Kakashi gave a small grin as he thought that maybe Iruka was looking at the stars right now too, maybe just maybe Iruka was staring at the same star he was...............  
  
"Kami I'm pathetic." Kakashi whispered to himself before he got up and opened the window letting the warm summer air fill the room before he got out and sat on the roof with his feet dangling off.  
  
"Do you normally leave company like that?" Obito joked before sat down next to Kakashi and laid on his back to get a better look at the sky. "Why did you say you were pathetic?"  
  
"What are you my psychologist?" Kakashi snapped at Obito causing the dirty blond to grin at him.  
  
"No but I could be." Kakashi obviously didn't find it as funny as Obito thought his joke was so Obito sighed and closed his eyes. "Listen Kakashi, this is the first mission I have ever had with you so I would personally like to get to know you better, I mean I have a feeling this mission is going to take a while so I would like to be able to communicate with the all of the team members and not just the other two of them."  
  
Kakashi thought about it. That made since for a team leader to want to build a relationship with his team members, it would give the leader better control in certain situations since the leader would have a good idea on how its team would react to certain things. It would definitely prove useful to Kakashi since as far as he knew, the Copy Cat Nin knew every shinobi in the village but obviously he was wrong since he hadn't really heard anything about Obito or Sayaka.  
  
"I don't need a psychologist." Kakashi stared off into the distance as a smirk came to his lips but Obito couldn't see it since he still had his mask on.  
  
Breeze came between the two figures and Kakashi looked at the sky one more time to realize some clouds had appeared. Another warm front was coming; Kakashi glanced around the yard and was pleased to see that the pond had made its own mist around the house helping conceal it before he heard Obito yawn.  
  
"When this mission is over I'm going to quit the Anbu squad and become a jounin." Obito stated out of the blue gaining Kakashi's attention.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"And then after that I will get married, have three kids; two boys and one girl; it has to be that way so that I can spoil the girl senseless and then I will retire." Obito gave a toothy grin towards Kakashi. "And then after that I will open some kind of store and die of old age."  
  
"And what about your wife?" Kakashi yawned a bit before he got comfortable.  
  
"She would die shortly after me because of grief." Obito kept a serious face as Kakashi found it rather amusing.  
  
"I pity your future wife." Kakashi muttered.  
  
"Well I pity yours." Obito retorted causing Kakashi to sigh.  
  
"Too bad I'm not getting married because that just misplaces your pity." Kakashi replied before turning to Obito. "And I plan to die on the battle field where my body will be destroyed and the only proof of my existence will be the carving of my name in our village's memorial tablet."  
  
"That's depressing." Obito commented softly, not really knowing how to respond to that.  
  
"But that's the future I choose."  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"Iruka-sensei!" A squeal came from down the hallway causing the chunin's heart to jump to his throat before he looked around his empty class in distress.  
  
"Why did she have to show up now?" Iruka heard footsteps coming from the hallway before he bolted out of the window he had left open in his room.  
  
Iruka remained still as he stuck to the side of the wall. He heard the door to his classroom open and held his breath.  
  
"Iruka-kun! Where did you go? I wanted to go out to lunch with you." A young females voice was heard from the room before the woman stomped her foot and left in a huff.  
  
"But I don't want to go to lunch with you." Iruka whispered to himself before he heard a female's laughter off in the distance.  
  
Iruka froze slowly turning his head praying it wasn't another woman out for lunch and wanting his company. He looked at the woman in an Anbu uniform with long purple hair flowing behind her in the breeze. Iruka gave her another glance before he jumped back in his classroom; Iruka went to his desk and grabbed some papers before he turned around to see the Anbu was now in his classroom.  
  
"That was really funny." The Anbu girl spoke before she took off her mask and smiled at Iruka. "It's been a while since I've seen something so entertaining, would you mind telling me your name sensei-san?"  
  
Iruka stared at her with his mouth open for a few seconds before he regained his composure. She was really pretty and very young looking to be an Anbu.  
  
"U......Umino Iruka." Iruka had a small blush come on his cheeks. "Is there anything I can help you with miss?"  
  
"Miss!" The purple haired Anbu glared at him. "I am way too young to be called miss you got that Iruka-sensei!"  
  
Iruka just nodded before the girl smiled at him. "My name is Chiyako but you can call me what ever you want cutie."  
  
Iruka blushed and grabbed some more papers from his desk. "Uhh.........if there is nothing I can help you with Chiyako-san then I must be going."  
  
Iruka tried giving a quick glance to the amused Anbu before he made his way out of his classroom. What was with women these days? Iruka made his way into the teachers lounge carefully to see that it was empty and sighed thankfully before he placed the papers he needed to grade on the table and made himself comfortable.  
  
It was a beautiful day in Konoha as the sky was a beautiful blue and all the children were playing tag on the playground. Iruka smiled as he waved by to his students and headed for his apartment where he new some instant ramen was waiting for him to indulge on.  
  
Iruka caught sight of one of his students walking away from the school all by himself causing Iruka to worry. The black haired boy would normally stay after school for shurinken training but after the 'incident' Iruka found out from Mizuki that Sasuke hadn't shown up to any of the classes.  
  
Before Iruka could call out the boy's name there came a high-pitched squeal startling both the boy and Iruka.  
  
"SASUKE-KUN!" Iruka watched as the boy took off running before some girls seem to appear out of nowhere and took off after him.  
  
Iruka just stared in awe as the girls disappeared off in the distance. Poor kid.  
  
"IRUKA-KUN!" Iruka flinched before he turned around slowly to wave at Suzume.  
  
"Hey Suzume." Iruka blushed as his old teammate and fellow teacher hugged him and smiled.  
  
"How's the number one top catch bachelor in Konoha doing? Not lonely I'm sure." Suzume winked at him causing Iruka to blush.  
  
"W-what are you talking about?" Iruka evaded her grasp and started walking home as she giggled beside him.  
  
"Don't act innocent with me. How many hearts have you broken this week alone? Twenty? Thirty? C'mon Iruka I heard that you were avoiding Jasna- sensei at lunch and Kat-sensei, Honda-sensei, and Ryoko-sensei were saying that you turned them down when they asked you out last week."  
  
"Suzume I'm just not really ready to start a relationship right now." Iruka looked at his friend trying to smile.  
  
"Why not Iruka-kun? You just keep telling me that but you won't tell me anything else! As far as I know you have never been in any kind of serious relationship so it's not like you've ever had your heart broken!" Suzume grabbed Iruka's arm. "Please just try to go out with someone I mean it would be really sad if you don't get married."  
  
"Why is that Suzume?" Iruka tried to hide the hurt in his voice at everything she had just said.  
  
"Because you are going to have terrific good looking kids!" Suzume squeezed his arm.  
  
"What makes you say that Suzume? I'm not that great to look at you know?" Iruka retorted before sighing. "I'm average and I like it that way. I'm not lonely and I really just don't want to be in a relationship right now so could you please respect my wishes."  
  
Suzume gave Iruka a hurt look before she nodded her head. "Well I better head home now.................bye Iruka-kun."  
  
Iruka gave her a small wave before he headed back home. Iruka sighed, as he really wasn't in the mood to go to his apartment anymore. Iruka spotted the bookstore on the corner and decided to make a stop since he had already finished the last book he had bought a few weeks ago.  
  
Iruka entered into the store and made his way down the isles before he found his section and smiled contently at all the educational material.  
  
"Now.........Kakashi-baka." Iruka whipped his head around when he heard someone say Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi!  
  
Did that mean the shinobi was back in Konoha? Iruka quickly turned the corner to find out who said that only to run into the person standing right there.  
  
"Ow!" Iruka looked down to see he had knocked over a purple haired girl..............in an Anbu uniform...............that looked remarkably like the Anbu girl you laughed at him earlier.  
  
"I am so sorry miss." Iruka helped her up before the girl whapped him over the head.  
  
"I am too young to be called miss! My name is Sasame!" Iruka looked at her puzzled for a second. Didn't she say her name was Chiyako earlier?  
  
"Sasame?" Iruka looked at her questionably before she smiled sheepishly at him.  
  
"You're the teacher from earlier." She smiled before she picked up the books she had dropped when Iruka had run into her. "Sorry I don't really remember your name but since we we've run into each other again I'm sure you won't mind repeating it."  
  
"It's Iruka and I thought your name was Chiyako?" Iruka pointed up as he picked up the book he had dropped when he had crashed into her.  
  
"Chiyako?" The girl smiled sheepishly before she explained. "Well that's my name too! You see my middle name is Sasame and my first name is Chiyako and I just happen to go by both!"  
  
"Chiyako Sasame?" Iruka was confused now.........that was the first time he heard someone going by both their first and middle name. Iruka shook his head and looked around the store and sighed. It looked like the person that had said something about Kakashi had already left the store.  
  
"What's with the sigh Iruka-sensei?" The purple haired Anbu smiled at Iruka admiring how cute the chunin looked even though he seemed slightly off.  
  
"Oh I just thought I heard someone talk about one of my friends but I guess they left when I ran into you." Iruka smiled apologetically at her. "I didn't mean to run into you."  
  
"It's okay and there hasn't been anyone in this store besides me since you've been in here." The Anbu girl added as if to help Iruka out.  
  
"But I swore I heard someone talking........."  
  
"To themselves? Yeah that would be me!" The girl smiled and showed Iruka two books she was holding. "I am buying some books for a few of my teammates since it'll be a while before they get back here to Konoha but I didn't know what to get this new guy, Kakashi, he's such a jerk maybe I shouldn't get him anything!"  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka looked at her wide-eyed. "You're on the same mission he is on?"  
  
The girl gave Iruka a skeptical look before she smiled. "So many questions from someone who I figured would be the quiet cute type."  
  
Iruka blushed. "I'm sorry that was a bit rude."  
  
"It's okay Iruka! But if you really want to make it up to me you can take me out to dinner but just so you know I'm not allowed to talk about my mission." The girl latched onto Iruka's arm and smiled. "So where do you want to go?"  
  
"What?"  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"Where did Hayate go?" Kakashi walked into the open room Obito was sitting on the floor in as the team leader read a few scrolls that were around him.  
  
"He went to go meet Sayaka-chan when she got back." Obito didn't bother to look up at Kakashi as he added, "They probably wanted to get some alone time too."  
  
"I didn't want to know that." Kakashi commented before he sat down on the ground too and looked over the stuff Obito was studying. "What is all of this?"  
  
"I went to town this morning and asked some of the people with power about hearing about any strange occurrences and they were nice enough to give me this." Obito held up a scroll. "It has every crime committed in the area for the past month."  
  
"And you think Itachi might be mentioned in there?" Kakashi took the scroll and opened it slowly. "I don't know if he would be stupid enough to get caught committing a crime when his reputation is hot right now."  
  
"I didn't say it said only the cases where the culprit was caught these are every case in the past month." Obito smiled as Kakashi glanced over it. "You seem to be in a better mood."  
  
"Is that a bad thing?" Kakashi gave Obito a skeptical glance while Obito just shook his hands as if he was surrendering.  
  
"I didn't say that now did I? I was just stating that you seem to be in a better mood." Obito smiled. "It's definitely a good thing."  
  
Kakashi stared at Obito while Obito just smiled contently. There was a moment of silence before Kakashi threw the scroll at Obito's face and stood up.  
  
"Screw this! I knew I should just keep acting the way I usually do!" Before Kakashi could take move out of the room he stepped on a scroll and went flying back but quickly regained his jounin reflexes and sent chakra to his feet and he pushed himself up with his arms and attached to the ceiling.  
  
Obito smiled as Kakashi walked away on the ceiling. "You almost made a fool of yourself right then." Obito commented causing Kakashi to stop and flip onto the ground.  
  
"Almost being the keyword."  
  
"Hey you want some tea?" Obito pointed over to a pitcher and a few glasses not to far from him and Kakashi just nodded and sat back down near the team leader.  
  
"Hey Obito-san." Obito looked up at Kakashi and nodded to show that he was listening as he curved his brown eyes and smiled. "When you were talking about your future wife last night, were you thinking of someone specific right then?"  
  
Obito was a little surprised by the question but shook his head. "No not really, I haven't met the woman I'm going to marry yet."  
  
Kakashi just nodded as if he had got an answer he was content with. Obito waited for a second before he glanced at Kakashi. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I was just thinking about it because the way you talked about her last night made her seem real and I thought it sounded nice, being in love with someone like that without even knowing who they are." Kakashi stared at his teacup remembering that he couldn't drink it with his mask on and sighed.  
  
"Well I know when I meet her it will be love right there because we both will be know and then we will get married, what about you? I know this might be a stupid question but is there a special someone you think about that way?"  
  
"There used to be." Kakashi admitted with a bitter smirk on his lips even though his mask covered it. "It still seems like it was a dream sometimes."  
  
Obito deciding it was best to just take advantage in the fact that Kakashi was talking to him didn't bother asking any questions that might cause the usually stoic shinobi to build a wall again.  
  
"I was head over heels for this person." Kakashi whispered looking out of the window that the light was pouring in from. "I don't think I will ever be that happy ever again."  
  
"What happened?" Obito inquired as Kakashi looked at him with an emotionless expression.  
  
"I broke up with him." Kakashi deadpanned causing Obito's eyes to widen.  
  
"You brok-................He?" Obito was about to say something when the door opened.  
  
"Hello." Sayaka walked into the room with her purple hair put in a bun and Hayate following after her quietly with an occasional cough. "Did you guys miss me?"  
  
"I liked the quiet." Kakashi smirked under his mask as she glared at him.  
  
"I'm not going to let your rudeness ruin my mood Kakashi-san, I am in a very good mood and I can't wait to tell you guys all of the gossip I got!" Sayaka sat down by Obito and pulled Hayate down with her. "Okay where do I start........."  
  
Kakashi shrugged and moved so that he could lay down and listen to their conversation at the same time. Maybe if he was lucky the girl would know something about how Iru-  
  
"Iruko........Inoka...........Iruchacha...........Irenn........I can't really remember his name but man what a nice guy!" Kakashi jolted his head and looked at Sayaka.  
  
"Iruka?" Kakashi questioned aloud causing everyone to look at him.  
  
"Yes that was his name Iruka-sensei! Oh now that I remember he said something about knowing you Kakashi.........well anyway back to my story........."  
  
"What did he say?" Kakashi inquired causing everyone to raise an eyebrow before Hayate coughed.  
  
"Oh yeah you guys were roommates for a few years weren't you?" Hayate coughed. "That's how I met Iruka when I walked you home after a mission, he gave me a cookie."  
  
Sayaka laughed and Obito sweat dropped at that fact. "Well yeah anyway I saw Iruka hiding outside of his classroom because apparently this girl keeps asking him out and he was avoiding her-"  
  
"Really?" Kakashi didn't realize how into the story he looked until Obito coughed a bit.  
  
"Stop interrupting me!" Sayaka glared. "Well then we ran into each other at a bookstore so I made him take me out to lunch! Oh, did you guys know that Asuma-senpai's brother is going to have a baby! (1) I over heard the information on my way home."  
  
Kakashi tried to calm his nerves. Iruka had said something about him? Maybe not.........why would Iruka want to say anything about him? Kakashi put his hands in his hair but made sure he listened to the story Sayaka was saying, who knows she might have some important information.  
  
"After that I told Kurenai that she should quit being a teacher and go back on the field. She has the makings of a jounin and I think she is limiting herself with that teaching position. Speaking of teachers, Iruka-sensei is one cute guy!"  
  
Kakashi visibly tensed. Maybe he shouldn't listen to this, what if he started regretting ending his relationship with Iruka even more then he did now? What if he finds out that Iruka has moved on? Kakashi would like for Iruka to move on but deep down inside Kakashi knows he doesn't want Iruka with anyone else.  
  
Even if that is selfish.  
  
"Apparently Iruka is single and very eligible, or that's what my sources tell me," Sayaka grinned at Hayate when he glared at her. "Don't worry Hayate-chan, I didn't do anything."  
  
Kakashi let out a sigh once he heard Iruka was still single. So what if he was being selfish! Kakashi relaxed a bit and sat up making himself comfortable in the chair he was in where he closed his eyes.  
  
"So who is Iruka?" Obito's voice broke through Kakashi's thoughts and Sayaka's ramblings.  
  
Sayaka paused for a moment, "Umino Iruka-sensei, age 18, lives by himself as of recently, apparently his last roommate kind of vanished last minute. As far as I know the Hokage has a lot of faith in him and by what I found out about him, sad childhood and currently recovering from some kind of relationship but no one seemed to know the details just that 'poor Iruka has so much stress to deal with' and that 'poor Iruka deserves a better life'; he looked fine to me personally."  
  
"What?" Kakashi sat up and looked at Sayaka with a somewhat surprised glance. "I thought you said you just met him."  
  
"Oh I did." Sayaka winked at Kakashi. "But it's odd for me to meet a lower level shinobi and not know who he is, especially one that's a good catch, so I decided to make up for lost time and found out all I could while I was there in Konoha."  
  
"I knew you were up to something." Obito smirked at her and looked over at Kakashi. "You kind of surprised me though since I didn't think you were the type to listen to gossip."  
  
"Don't want to fall behind on the latest fashion." Kakashi mumbled before he got up and walked out of the room.  
  
"What's up his butt?" Sayaka stated bluntly before Hayate hit her.  
  
"That's not how a lady should talk." Hayate sighed. "Didn't you hear me earlier when I said that Kakashi was Iruka's old roommate? He probably just wants to check up on his friend."  
  
"Pfft. The almighty Kakashi have friends?" Sayaka didn't bother trying to hide her sarcasm off her voice.  
  
"Be nice Sayaka." Obito murmured before he stood up and stretched. "Guys I'm going to take Kakashi out on a walk so make sure you have everything packed when we get back."  
  
Hayate and Sayaka waited for Obito to leave the room when Sayaka grinned at Obito.  
  
"Do you think senpai is going to scold Kakashi for being so rude all the time?"  
  
"Not likely." Hayate coughed a bit. "But it's none of our business so let's do what Obito said and pack."  
  
"You're no fun!"  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"Yo Iruka!"  
  
Iruka turned looked up from the mission report he was filing and smiled at Mizuki.  
  
"Hey, Mizuki. Are you fixing to go somewhere?" Iruka took notice on how his friend was no longer wearing the usually chunin attire as Mizuki just smirked at him.  
  
"Yeah I have a date." Mizuki turned his head as his light hair graced his shoulders.  
  
The light haired chunin sensei was wearing normal attire. A t-shirt and jeans with some slip on brown sandals that made him look like he was just returning from a mission that was near one of the beaches in the Water country.  
  
Iruka just nodded at his friend and was about to ask whom Mizuki was dating when he heard a familiar voice call out.  
  
"Mizuki-kun!" Suzume ran up and grabbed his arm before she noticed Iruka and smiled at him. "Good afternoon Iruka-kun!"  
  
"Yeah........." Iruka grinned, as Suzume blushed a bit. "Why are you guys meeting in the assignment room?'  
  
"Oh yeah." Mizuki pulled a scroll out from on of his pockets and smiled. "Here's my mission report; I know it's a little late but at least I finally remembered do complete it."  
  
"Yeah yeah........." Iruka sighed and then waved his two friends off before he looked up at the clock. "Well it looks like I am done for the night guys."  
  
"See you later Iruka-sensei." One of the shinobi in the room gave a smile before he went back to work.  
  
Iruka walked down the streets and smiled as a warm breeze passed him giving him this comfortable feeling. The sky was dark now and the stars filled the sky. Iruka looked up and sighed as he closed his eyes to make a quick wish before he continued on his walk.  
  
'sniffle'  
  
Iruka stopped his footsteps and turned his head in the direction of the practice field that he had taken all the classes to that day. It sounded like someone was still out there but who would be out here at this time of night?  
  
'sob'  
  
Iruka slowly approached the practice field and peered down at a hunched figure running its fingers through the grass.  
  
/ A student? / Iruka thought as he went through the possibilities of why a student would be out here. In his younger classes they had practiced throwing kunai and Iruka knew that no one lost any of their own if they brought any because he made sure after class............  
  
'sniffle'  
  
Iruka made his way out onto the field to get a better look at the student. It was too dark so he wasn't able to recognize the blonde hair and hitai- ate leaf t-shirt until he was practically squatting on the ground next to Naruto.  
  
"Naruto?" Iruka spoke up catching the kid off guard as the blonde jumped up in the air and quickly wiped his eyes as he noticed it was his teacher.  
  
"I-I-Iruka-sensei!!" Naruto stood up so that he was eye level with his squatting teacher. "I didn't do anything so you can't scold me!"  
  
Iruka was about to say something but paused. Did the fox really think he was just here to scold him?  
  
"I'm not here to scold you Naruto." Iruka gave a small smile to the child who was glaring disbelieving at him. "I'm serious! I just heard some noise out here and wanted to make sure whoever was crying didn't hurt themselves."  
  
"I wasn't crying." Naruto spat out even though Iruka could see it was an obvious lie.  
  
"Well then what were you doing out here?"  
  
"I was.........uh...I...I-I-I was looking for a key." Naruto mumbled the last part so that Iruka almost didn't hear it but the chunin sensei sighed and looked at his student.  
  
"Why are you out here in the night looking for a key Naruto, its dark and way past your curfew? I would like you to be able to stay awake through one of my classes before you graduate." Iruka joked until he noticed the boy looked worried. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"It was my house key." Naruto stated not looking up at his young teacher.  
  
"Oh." Was all Iruka could say as he stared at the boy.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Naruto looked up at his teacher who seemed to be thinking of something important so Naruto decided not to bother his sensei and started looking for his key again. Naruto almost grinned as he thought about the fact that that was the first time he ever had a real talk with someone and the person not be yelling at him.  
  
Iruka thought for a moment before he reached into his pocket and smiled. He had found a key when he had checked over the field for any missing weapons. Iruka chuckled to himself before he ruffled Naruto's hair startling the boy.  
  
Naruto flinched when he felt the contact of Iruka's hand and Iruka realized what he was doing and suddenly pulled his hand away. Naruto looked at his weird teacher who had actually played with his hair like some older brother, Naruto was about to ask if Iruka hadn't gotten the memo that no one liked him but Iruka seemed surprised at himself before the teacher took an object from his pocket and handed it to the boy.  
  
"I found it earlier on the field and just remembered I put it in my pocket." Iruka stated quickly before he got up and started walking away.  
  
"Yes!" Naruto yelled in triumph as he grabbed the key. "Thanks Iruka- sensei!"  
  
Iruka didn't reply as he made took the quickest route home. It wasn't until the chunin had taken a shower and thrown himself on his bed till he looked at the hand he had touched the blonde fox's head with.  
  
"What's wrong with me?" Iruka glared at his hand.  
  
There was nothing wrong with being nice to the kid! Iruka turned over and hit his head on a pillow before he sighed. The kid had flinched when I touched him almost as if it was his first time to have someone do that to him ever.........  
  
Iruka turned over and decided to push his thoughts to the back of his head. He had more important things to think about instead of his trouble-making student! Like what he should do for class tomorrow.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
The trees moved in the breeze causing leaves to float to the ground as Kakashi and Obito walked around in no direction in particular. Kakashi sighed as he stared at the taller ninja, he was tall himself so to meet someone taller made him feel like a little kid again. Obito just had a content look on his face as he looked up at the clouds.  
  
Kakashi was about to ask why Obito had insisted he go on the walk but decided against it and remained silent.  
  
"So who is this Iruka-sensei really?" Obito smiled as Kakashi looked at him a bit surprised. "I'm just asking to be friendly; who knows maybe you could use some advice."  
  
"I was too obvious back there........." Kakashi mumbled before he leaned against a tree and sighed. "I don't have to tell you anything."  
  
"I know." Obito smiled. "But I think you need to tell someone or it might affect your performance on our mission."  
  
"You think that this might affect me in a fight?" Kakashi asked almost disbelieving. He was the Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi for goodness sakes!  
  
"In a straight-forward reply, yes." Obito curved his eye even though he could hear a few curses escaping the younger shinobi's mouth.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Kakashi hit the back of his head against the tree he was leaning on. He hated it when people were right, especially when they were right about something that could be considered a weakness and directing it at him.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that if you want to talk then I'm here." Obito smiled and turned around slowly before he heard something that was muffled and looked over his shoulder to see Kakashi glaring at him. "What's with the face?"  
  
Kakashi sighed. "I said you win."  
  
Obito got a serious expression on his face. "That's not what I was meaning Kakashi."  
  
"What does it matter?" Kakashi sighed.  
  
"What matters is I'm trying to put up with your attitude and become your friend but you keep acting like a spoiled brat who just graduated the academy." Kakashi was about to say something but Obito cut him off by continuing, "I know you became a shinobi when you were a child but that doesn't give you the right to act like one now."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi snapped as he glared at Obito.  
  
"It means exactly how it sounds Kakashi. You are acting like a spoiled brat and it's about time you faced reality. From what I know you seem to really love this Iruka guy but you broke up with him before you went on this mission. Obviously something had to of happened and now you are having second thoughts, I know you don't seem to be the type to listen willingly but heed my words, if you screw up on this mission because you let your emotions get in the way I will have you sent back to the village and that can strip you of you jounin title." Obito's words sunk in as Kakashi glared at the older man.  
  
"What do you know?" Kakashi yelled.  
  
"Exactly, what do I know?" Obito smirked at Kakashi causing the silver haired shinobi to grit his teeth.  
  
Who did this guy think he was? Letting emotions get in the way of a mission! Kakashi had to laugh; he was the guy who mastered over 1000 ninjitsus before his 22 birthday! He's the guy who mastered the sharingan eye without being part of the infamous Uchiha clan! Kakashi continued to grit his teeth.  
  
Spoiled brat? Kakashi lowered his head. Who had the right to tell him he was acting like a spoiled brat? So what if he was acting like one anyway! He had just made the biggest mistake in his life, wasn't he allowed to berate himself!  
  
"Why did you break up with him anyway, if you don't mind me asking?" Obito leaned against the same tree as Kakashi and slid down so that he was sitting on the ground as another warm breeze came through.  
  
"And what if I do mind?" Kakashi mumbled as he sat too. "I'm moron."  
  
"I already knew that." Obito joked before Kakashi sighed and Obito's brown eyes softened. "There was a reason wasn't there?"  
  
"The Hokage told me to." Kakashi stated causing Obito to get some doubt.  
  
"What makes you say that? I mean did he tell to just flat out dump this Iruka character?"  
  
"No." Kakashi paused. "He told me to break any chains that might be holding me back because he didn't want anything to hinder my performance during this mission."  
  
"Ah." Obito nodded as if he understood completely. "Well then it probably was the best thing for you to break up with this Iruka."  
  
"What?" Kakashi stated as he stared at the dirty blonde friend.  
  
"Well, obviously you thought that Iruka was chaining you down. You said that the Hokage didn't tell you flat out to dump the guy so you can't justify yourself by blaming it on the Hokage." Obito pause to make sure Kakashi was getting it. "As far as you knew the Hokage could have meant anything but you automatically assumed Iruka which means subconsciously you believe Iruka is holding you back."  
  
Kakashi was about to say something but paused.  
  
Was Obito right?  
  
"But........." Kakashi looked at Obito. "I loved Iruka, how could I ever think like that?"  
  
"I never said you didn't love him." Obito gave Kakashi a sympathetic pat on the back; this must be hard for the ninja to realize. "It's just that you are a ninja of Konoha and that means we serve our village with our lives, you know this and you knew deep down that there was a chance that you would drop your village and put Iruka first and that is very dangerous for a shinobi."  
  
Kakashi ran his fingers through his hair. Why did it take him so long to realize this? The Hokage had never directly said anything about breaking up with Iruka but because Kakashi had automatically thought about doing so did that mean that everything Obito just said was true?  
  
"Obito." Kakashi looked over at his new friend. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem after all that's what friends are for." Obito stood up and stretched. "Alright lets head back because if I know Sayaka right she bought us some presents from Konoha."  
  
Kakashi just curved his visible eye and nodded as he stood up as well.  
  
This is what he needed, someone to show him the truth; even if it wasn't what he had originally thought.  
  
This was the first step to moving on and Kakashi hated to admit it but.............  
  
He was scared to see where this road led.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Konohamaru!! Asuma's last name is Sarutobi and in the flash backs in the manga (doesn't want to spoil anything) where **something** happens to the Hokage and Jiraiya is having a flashback, the Hokage's students refer to the Hokage as Sarutobi-sensei thus I figured there was some relation! And since I don't think Asuma has a kid I figured it could be his brother who is responsible for bringing Konohamaru into the world! Woohoo!  
  
Well? What did you guys think about that chapter? It took me a while to find a way to end it but I think I did a good job. Of course it isn't me favorite chapter but I hope all of you like it! Please leave a review and tell me how you feel!  
  
And now my replies to your reviews! It's been a while!  
  
''''''''''''''''''''Reviews '''''''''''''''''''' TheTrueSilver: I'm glad you like angst because well this story will have plenty of it..........or it did have a good dose of it earlier but of course I always try to follow it up with something a little happier! Thanks for the review! Don't hurt the Kakashi plushie please! SEE! SEE! He does miss Iruka- chan!! (grabs senbon needles from Silver and pets the Kakashi plushie)  
  
Silver Neo: I hope your head ache got better (of course it did b/c you you had it when you reviewed chapter 16) Don't worry Iruka will be feeling back to his normal self in a little bit and don't be so mean to Kakashi please! I mean yeah you can get Naruto to beat him up all you want and poor Sasuke but Kakashi is suffering too.................I think..............Thats really cute that you had them make up in your chap17 review! I know Naruto wasn't in chap 17 a lot but he was in this one a little more! But he wont have too big of parts because this is Iruka and Kakashi's story not Sasuke and Naruto's (and yeah I would pair them together) Thank you for reviewing as always I love it!  
  
Evil Kasumi: I plan to continue this story all the way to the end so no worries there! I didn't know if I did a good job at the break up scene because it was the first time I ever attempted something like that but thanks for the review! I'm glad chap 16 brought out so many emotions and don't worry I do plan to rectify myself! I'm glad you liked chapter 17 too, did I rectify myself a little bit? Ne?  
  
Hikari of Darkness: Yeah about the sharingan from Obito theory.............(sigh).......I wanted to keep this story as true to the manga as I could possibly do but I forgot about Kakashi mentioning this guy named Obito in the funeral chapter so when I was going over the chapter and saw that I had already written the part where Kakashi got his eye from Heidaki but at the same time no one really knows about how he got that sharingan eye so I was safe and all I needed to do was put Obito in this story and give a big part with a sad ending (foreshadowing) and thus I made the Obito that has appeared in 'Growing Pains' I hope you like him! I hope I keep updating faster than I did this time (smile)  
  
Sabrea: Don't worry they will get back together (and believe it or not I am not ruining the ending of the story!!)  
  
Morien Alexander: That's sad that you know how Iruka feels but then again I guess that helps readers be able to get into my story if they can show empathy for the characters I am using! (bows) I can't believe this is one of your favoritest stories because I love your stories!! Speaking of which when are you going to update 'Sometimes'? (lol)  
  
Kami Beverly: I would enjoy it if you called me crazy because I am plain psycho!!  
  
shadoewhunter: I will be nice to Kakashi (hands you a tissue) Thank you for reviewing!  
  
b4k4-girl: please don't cry!! I can't take it that most of the reviews I am getting for chapter 16 are of ppl who are sad!! (but that's my fault isn't it? smirk) Don't worry you will find out what happens soon enough! (laughs evilly)  
  
KakashiSuka{My Fan}: I don't know what really to leave you as a reply since we talk through email but hey keep reviewing! I'm glad you like my story and your really cool! I hope you are having a great day lil'sis!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: Thanks for the no more 10 years of pain! (rubs bottom) I;m still recovering from last time! And you seem to have the story planned out (laughs evilly) how can I mess up the happy ending...........hm..........I am the author so I don't have to have a nice ending I could end it with unresolved love issues and a character death..........(smirk) but who will die? Thanks for the bearhug! I much prefer that then pain! Maybe you were foreshadowing DUN DUN DUNN but then again maybe you weren't.........(jk)  
  
eyes0nme19: You don't have to hope for more because even if you didn't want more I would keep typing!! (laughs like that is a good thing) Iruka-chan is a cutie isn't he?  
  
Renn: Obito was mentioned in the manga (that has yet to be released in shonen jump) in the chapter where a lot of ppl are mourning cause a certain event happened..............i don't know how far you read so I don't want to ruin it.........but it's a sad chapter (like that helps) Yeah I'm glad you like how I got Iruka moving on even tho it was a slow start but atleast he's moving!  
  
Jenn: yeah Kakashi doesn't think before doing a lot and in some cases it might have a really bad out come (foreshadowing) MAN I LOVE DOING THAT! How did you do one your exams? I still have two more to do then I am done for the year (yippee)  
  
Assassin: HEY! I'm going to miss gym class with you cause that means I won't be able to tell you what I'm planning to do in the future to poor Iruka and Kakashi (laughs like a maniac) Oh and thanks for the job!!  
  
Dream Fox: They are cute together! And that's what makes everyone want to read stories with them together in it! I love KakaIru! Don't worry I should continue faster now that school is out on Tuesday!  
  
Nikole StarGazer: I am so happy that someone actually spent two days trying to finish my story! Because that means something good right?? I'm glad you liked the fluffiness and all that good stuff!  
  
lemmings12: Don't worry their paths will intertwine again and Iruka will eventually move on to a point where.........(mumbles off).........so please keep reading! Thank you for reviewing!  
  
Nekomoongirl: Hopefully you are understanding Kakasihi's state of mind when he broke up with Iruka a little more as the story goes on. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Blue ½: I'm glad you liked how I portrayed the rookies as children and don't worry there will be more little kid time next chapter! Thanks for reviewing and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!  
  
Isolde1: Hey! Thanks and I'm glad you liked chapter 17! Please Review again and I love your stories too!  
  
Sadistic Demon: Yeah you will get to see more glimpses of the rookies when they were kids now that Kakashi is gone and Iruka starts to dedicate himself to make sure that they surive!  
  
piNkLaLa-o2: I'm glad you love it! Please review again!  
  
'''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Please Review!  
  
Have a great week! 


	19. Hokage Visits Iruka's Class

I do not own Naruto! (sigh)  
  
This is chapter 19! I hope everyone likes it! I got some big news! I JUST GOT A CAR! And Tuesday was the last day of school for me and I should be getting my license some time this week! I'm so happy!  
  
I finally have more time to write for my fanfics! Which means I might be able to start updating once every one to two weeks regularly!! (does happy dance) I really tried to sty up with that schedule during the school year but failed miserably!  
  
I HAVE 200 REVIEWS!! (good guy pose) Thank you all for reviewing and I love you guys very much! Thank you guys for reviewing and continuing to read this story all the way through and I hope you guys stay till the end!  
  
Since I have been having all this good stuff happen I think I will give everyone a preview fro next chapter! Which by the way, I think might start another angst ear so for all my angsty fans! This is for you!! And for everyone else well.........It's for you too!!  
  
I hope you are having a good week!  
  
Replies to reviews are at the bottom and so is sneak peak preview!  
  
Enjoy!  
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Chapter 19: Hokage Visits Iruka's Class  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka sat up as the beeping of his alarm clock reached his ears. With a swift motion of reaching out his right arm to the table next to him and moving tapping the snooze button before turning off the clock. Iruka sighed as he took a quick glance out the window, smirking since it was still dark outside; the chunin sat up and pulled his hair up into its normal ponytail before beginning his daily routine.  
  
It was a beautiful day in Konoha, the leaves changing colors, the warm weather of summer coming to an end as the cold breezes of winter invaded every alley. The sun was barely able to peak over the forest that hid the ninja village as we find our favorite chunin sensei on the way to work.  
  
Today Iruka was going to get to take his classes up to roof of the main building and show the kids the Hokage monuments. Not that the kids got didn't see them everyday but Iruka thought it would be fun to teach the kids about who each of the Hokages were and why they are carved into the mountain, if not for their remembrance but so that they could watch over the village even after death.  
  
Iruka smirked a bit.  
  
Sandaime might not like it if he worded it that way, it made it seem as if the Hokage was already dead. Iruka smiled at the thought.  
  
/ Like that old man was ever going to die. / Iruka's brown eyes softened as he looked up at the carving of the third Hokage. / And I hope we keep it that way. /  
  
Word had gotten out that the Hokage's son had finally had a child and the village couldn't be prouder. Sandaime had named the boy Konohamaru after the village and Iruka thought that the name fit.  
  
Sadly with happy moments also come sad as the mother of the boy died giving birth. She was a strong ninja and Iruka felt truly sorry for the boy who would never get to meet his mother.  
  
"Iruka-sensei." Iruka turned around a bit and did a small bow in respect to the man he thought of nothing but greatness for.  
  
"Hokage-sama." There was a pleasant peace between the two before they continued walking on the path towards the school.  
  
"You are up very early." The Hokage teased as he took a few puffs from his pipe.  
  
"Well today is going to be a busy day." Iruka smiled. "I plan to take the kids to see the Hokage monument and explain to the about what it means to be a Hokage."  
  
"Ah." The Hokage nodded very pleased with the idea. "I might stop by for a visit afterwards then, if my schedule will allow.  
  
"That would be very good for the students." They both reached the school and with a silent nod went there separate ways.  
  
Iruka walked through the empty hallways already knowing he would be the only person in the building since the other teachers didn't arrive until an hour after he did. When Iruka opened the door to his classroom he was met by a surprise.  
  
"Suzume?" Iruka looked at the sleeping teacher on his desk. Why was she here?  
  
"Uh?" The young dark haired teacher opened her eyes; they were blood shot as if she had been crying all night. "Iruka?"  
  
"Why are you here?" Iruka asked taking note that it looked like she had gone on another date with Mizuki last night.  
  
"Oh!" The teacher looked around before tears welded up in her eyes. "I guess last night wasn't a dream."  
  
"Huh? Suzume are you okay?" Iruka pulled his friend over so that he was looking into her eyes. "What happened?"  
  
"M-M-Mizuki broke up with me!" Was all the girl managed to say before she broke down into tears.  
  
Iruka let her cry into his chest as he patted her back soothingly. What had gone wrong? They were a cute couple and Iruka knew that their relationship had gone pretty far. After all he found that out when he went to Mizuki's apartment and found Suzume there taking a shower.  
  
The sobs started to quiet before the young teacher looked up at Iruka. "Did he tell you why? Do you know why he broke up with me?"  
  
Iruka bit his lip at how desperate Suzume had sounded just then. He had been on the same ninja team with the girl and so to see her in tears was a new experience, especially after she gave him the lecture about how shinobi were never supposed to cry.  
  
"Suzume, you need to get a hold of yourself." Iruka spoke quietly as the girl looked at him. "I don't know anything, this is the first time I've heard of it but if you really need the answers then go find Mizuki and ask him."  
  
Iruka almost had to laugh at himself just then. Who was he to talk? He wanted several things to be answered but since he had no idea where Kakashi was the best thing he could do was move on. But then again why was he comparing his relationship to Suzume and Mizuki's?  
  
"Your right Iruka-kun." The young teacher wiped a few of her tears before she stood up and let go of her friend. "I look like an idiot don't I?"  
  
"Not at all." Iruka smiled at her causing her to laugh.  
  
Suzume let out a long sigh before she smiled. "I guess I somehow ended up here last night after he broke up with me."  
  
There was a moment of silence before Suzume tried to smile at Iruka but it didn't turn out just right as she turned around and left. "See you later."  
  
"Bye." Iruka spoke softly even though he knew she heard it.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi jumped to the next branch in his path. They had finally pinpointed Itachi's location meaning that their mission was almost over.  
  
'If you see him give off the signal and everyone will rush to where ever you are'  
  
'Do not attack first until everyone is there'  
  
'Do not kill Itachi'  
  
Obito's orders went across Kakashi's thoughts. He had decided to head to the south entrance of the village, which meant everyone else would be north, west, and east.  
  
"I could kill Itachi and be heading back home before they ever get to me." Kakashi thought to himself but sighed. He had to follow orders no matter what because it was that train of thought that got people killed.  
  
"Target 62° south and 23° east." Hayate's voice came up on the intercom in Kakashi's ear regaining the silver haired shinobi's attention. "This is Sick Puppy looking for medicine."  
  
Kakashi tried not to snort at Hayate's code name; it ruined the serious mood that was about to take place.  
  
"Doctor here," Obito's voice came up, "And I hear puppy but need to check on other patients first."  
  
"Nurse will meet up with puppy at location given, we will wait for medicine then." Sayaka's voice caused Kakashi to sigh.  
  
If anyone were actually tapping into their walkie-talkies then they would know the plan already. Kakashi sighed once again, and it wasn't like Itachi had the materials to hack into their system but then again the former Leaf shinobi could be working with someone.  
  
"Paging castrated Scarecrow. Nurse is paging for the castrated scarecrow." Sayaka's amused voice reached Kakashi's ear causing the man to grit his teeth.  
  
"Its just scarecrow!" He barked over into the speaker where he could still hear some of her laughter.  
  
"Okay guys no more fun and games this is a mission." Obito quieted everyone down. "Where is your location scarecrow?"  
  
Kakashi sighed. "I'm 62° south and 20° east. Location of target in sight but no sign of target."  
  
"Stay there until I catch you. I'll be there in a few seconds."  
  
As soon as Obito had finished saying that he appeared next to Kakashi with a smirk.  
  
"So what's the plan?" Kakashi asked as soon Hayate and Sayaka appeared.  
  
"We go in." Obito smirked before he vanished being followed by all of the people in his team.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka started at the clock while glancing at the only empty seat in his classroom every once and a while. The kid was already ten minutes late to class, which could only mean one thing.  
  
Naruto was pulling another prank.  
  
/ That brat! / Iruka's brow began to twitch as he turned to his class who all sighed, as they knew what was about to happen.  
  
"Class, I will be back in five minutes. Until then you have free time so just keep the volume at an inside level." A few people in the class smiled while the other moaned.  
  
"Sensei! Just let Naruto get in trouble with the authorities, he's such a pest!" A girl with pink haired pouted as Iruka smiled at her.  
  
"But he's my responsibility during school hours." And with that Iruka vanished and appeared above the fox boy's apartment.  
  
"Well, he isn't here." Iruka turned toward the direction of some smoke. "Please don't let him be there."  
  
Iruka jumped across the rooftops until he heard the ridiculously loud laughter of his certain hellion of a student. And sure enough it appeared that the boy had set off a few dozen smoke bombs in the assigning room. Why didn't anyone catch him?  
  
Naruto continued to laugh his little blond heart out before Iruka took a deep breath.  
  
"UZUMAKI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING SKIPPING CLASS AND CAUSING VANDALISM AT THAT?" The blond froze in his place and shivered as he turned around to face his very ticked sensei.  
  
"Eep! Iruka-sensei! I am so dead." The blond was about to turn and take off in the other direction before he felt his arms getting pulled behind his back and his feet being tied.  
  
It took about two seconds to have the prankster tied like a rodeo calf and it took another 5 seconds before the blond realized what happened.  
  
"Naruto?" Iruka hit the kid on the head. "I thought I already told you to show up to class!"  
  
The blond just pouted causing one of Iruka's veins to pop. "Don't even act like you don't deserve punishment!"  
  
The Hokage watched the scene from the sidelines as he laughed. Who knew those two would get along so well?  
  
"Okay class we have a special guest." All the talking among the students seized as they waited in anticipation. "Since I took you guys to the monument earlier I thought it would be great if you guys got to hear from the Hokage himself."  
  
All the kids grinned well except for one.  
  
"What's so great about that old geezer!" Naruto said more to himself then to anyone even though the whole class heard him.  
  
"Idiot! He's the strongest ninja in the whole village." The pink haired girl from earlier glared at the blond.  
  
"But Sakura-chan, he's old!" Naruto cried out to his fellow classmate.  
  
"Ew! Don't talk to her loser!" Sakura's blonde haired friend Ino pointed at Naruto.  
  
"Okay class, settle down." Iruka sighed before he opened the door and the Hokage in his white robes entered.  
  
"Good afternoon." The Hokage tipped his hat as everyone replied with a bow.  
  
"Thanks for visiting today Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled as the Hokage just smiled back.  
  
"Okay class feel free to ask Hokage-sama anything but remember be polite." With that Iruka sat behind his desk and left the floor open where all the kids got out of their desks so they could talk to the leader of their village.  
  
"Hokage-sama." Sakura and Ino smiled at the man as they held out some flowers. "We picked these earlier for you."  
  
"Why thank you Ino-chan, and you too Sakura-chan. These are very beautiful." The Hokage smiled as he held onto the flowers.  
  
"Would you guys be willing to tell me all of the stuff you learned this year? You see Iruka is a new teacher and I don't know if he is doing a good job or not." The Hokage smiled as all the kids giggled.  
  
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka pouted. "If your going to insult the teacher then you could have asked me to leave."  
  
"Don't worry Iruka-sensei! We don't tell on you about the time you fell asleep when we were testing." Iruka blushed as the Hokage raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"And we wont mention the time you got us lost on a field trip!"  
  
"Or when we accidentally got caught in one of our traps!"  
  
"Or like when he!"  
  
"Okay guys!" Iruka started to shove the kids back into their seats. "You aren't helping."  
  
The classroom was full of laughter as Iruka tried to explain himself to the Hokage who was just having fun seeing the chunin in a panic.  
  
Everyone paused as the door slid open to reveal another student who had been late to school that day. Everyone grew silent except for a few girls who started to blush.  
  
"Sasuke-kun." Iruka smiled.  
  
"Sorry I am late sensei." The boy's dark eyes made Iruka shiver but then the boy noticed the Hokage.  
  
"Today we have the Hokage visiting us." Iruka tried to guess what Sasuke was thinking as the silent boy just nodded and to his desk.  
  
He used to be such a lively kid. Iruka thought solemnly before he gave the Hokage a small grin. But then again who wouldn't be like that after they saw their whole clan wiped out in front of them.  
  
Before Sasuke made it to his desk he felt some fingers ruffle his hair. The boy turned to glare at the perpetrator to see the Hokage smiling at him.  
  
"Good to see you too Sasuke-kun." The boy stood there as if in a momentary shock before he nodded his head and went to his seat.  
  
"Ah!" Iruka smiled as he looked at the clock. "Okay class it's time for lunch."  
  
At this the whole class cheered and the Hokage smiled.  
  
"Are you going to eat lunch with us Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked as the other man nodded.  
  
"Yes, it feels very nice to be with the future of this village." Iruka smiled before he noticed the Hokage glare at two kids who were holding an empty bag. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
One of the boys just sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked over at his larger friend who was sweating like he just got caught doing something bad. "Choji, I told you that lunch wasn't yours. Geez, you're so tiresome."  
  
The bigger boy just looked at the Hokage in a state of panic before he turned to his friend.  
  
The Hokage glared at the two of them before he noticed as they nodded at each other and took off down the hallway.  
  
"HEY YOU-"And Iruka sweat dropped as he watched the Hokage chase two of his students down the hallway.  
  
"HAHAHA!" Naruto laughed. "It's about time I wasn't the only one getting in trouble!"  
  
Iruka sighed as he went back to his desk. Maybe the Hokage wouldn't mention this again.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi pulled out a kunai as he slashed one of his opponent's clones making it disappear in a cloud of smoke.  
  
He had a migraine and the fact that these people kept attacking didn't help.  
  
They didn't find Itachi. No, that would have at least mean that he hadn't wasted over a year on this mission for nothing, but of course this shinobi could never get a break and it turned out the building they were breaking into happened to be the home of three very dangerous s-class criminals.  
  
None of which were Itachi, which pissed Kakashi off to no end.  
  
"Kakashi, please don't be so aggressive. You almost hit me." Obito joked as Kakashi just glared at the team leader.  
  
"I don't think he is listening to you Obito-senpai." Sayaka dodge another attack as started to make a few hand seals.  
  
The shinobi they were facing were all from the Hidden Mist. The leader was a man who had killed many innocent people known as Kazuhiro Nataka, Kakashi had heard of him a few times and even met the man once when the assassin was hired to kill the man Kakashi was hired to protect.  
  
It didn't end well but Kazuhiro had managed to escape even though Kakashi had won.  
  
The other two were twins known as Yugo and Akemi. They had stolen many scrolls and assassinated a few feudal lords in the wave country before vanishing for a few months.  
  
So this is where they were.  
  
"What a surprise to run into the infamous Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi for a second time!" Kazuhiro laughed at he dodged a wave of kunai Kakashi had thrown at him. "You seem different."  
  
"Maybe it's because I am stronger." Kakashi smirked under his mask as he did a few hand seals and vanished into thin air.  
  
"Maybe.........but I doubt it." Kazuhiro smirked, as he was able to dodge everything Kakashi threw at him.  
  
"Kakashi!" Obito looked around the room to see that Kakashi and one of the s-class criminals had disappeared. "Dang it Kakashi!"  
  
Weapons hit weapons. Metal hit metal. Kakashi bet back to avoid Kazuhiro's katana while pulling out the sword he had on his back.  
  
Kakashi paused as he looked at the sword. Iruka had given it to him as a birthday present a while back. The jounin felt a kunai hit his shoulder causing him to get back into reality, as he was able to evade the rest.  
  
"Come on Kakashi, let me see your true power." Kazuhiro grinned as he started to perform a jutsu. "I've heard rumors that you held out on me in our last battle."  
  
Hayate watched as his opponent fell dead on the ground before he flicked his sword causing the blood to swipe off. He turned to see Sayaka had finished off the other one with Obito's help.  
  
"Where's the other one?" He quickly asked as he scanned the room.  
  
"With Kakashi outside." Obito smirked as they ran out to find their teammate.  
  
Kakashi smirked as he saw his team make it out of the building. They seemed to be fine which was good since they were facing s-class criminals. He turned his attention back to the shinobi in front of his as he held onto his shoulder.  
  
He better end this quick before Sayaka could tease him about taking so long.  
  
"You want to see all of my power?" Kakashi smirked as he placed his hand on his headband. "Fine but just so you know, none of my opponents who have seen this have lived."  
  
"You sound confident." Kazuhiro grinned before his eyes widened as he stared into a spinning Sharingan wheel. "WHAT?"  
  
"Kakashi has the!" Sayaka gasped as she looked over at her teammates.  
  
"Sharingan.........but how?" Obito asked himself before he felt something move behind him.  
  
"IDIOTS!" Kakashi yelled. "Don't get caught in the genjutsu!"  
  
"Crap!" Obito pushed Sayaka into Hayate knocking them out of the way was a huge black liquid grabbed him. "AH!"  
  
"Like the friends you have here Kakashi." Kazuhiro laughed as he squeezed his hands into a fist causing Obito to scream in pain.  
  
Kakashi glared at the man in front of him. He had to end this in one shot or Obito would die.  
  
After making up his mind Kakashi did a few hand seals before grabbing his wrist and holding it down to the ground. "CHIDIDORI!"  
  
An amazing blue flash filled the air making everything go dark in the atmosphere as Kakashi lunged forward startling Kazuhiro was the S-class criminal stared wide-eyed as the hand turned into a weapon out of chakra.  
  
Kakashi closed his eyes as blood sprayed from Kazuhiro's body.  
  
He hadn't used this move in a long time.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka smiled as he locked up his classroom. Today had been a good day.  
  
"Yo!" Iruka turned around to see his friend Mizuki leaning against a wall in the hallway.  
  
"Hey." Iruka walked beside his friend before he paused to allow Mizuki to walk beside him before he continued to walk.  
  
"I heard that all your students ratted out your bad behavior to the Hokage." Mizuki grinned as Iruka sighed.  
  
"I hope Hokage-sama doesn't hold this against me in the future." Iruka looked up at his friend when thoughts about this morning crossed his mind. "Speaking of bad behavior, what happened between you and Suzume?"  
  
"Oh." Mizuki chuckled a bit before he looked at his friend. "She was looking for something that I couldn't give her, that's all."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Iruka raised an eyebrow as Mizuki just sighed.  
  
"You know me Iruka, I'm not the long relationship type. I prefer to fool around and get my kicks before moving on but Suzume, she wants marriage." Mizuki made a childish face like a kid who just said they hate vegetables.  
  
"Well yeah she wants marriage." Iruka stated flatly. "I wouldn't mind getting married someday."  
  
"But then why don't you marry her?" Mizuki teased as Iruka just sighed.  
  
"She's not the person I love." Before Mizuki could say anything Iruka smiled again and looked at his friend. "So what did you tell Suzume?"  
  
"What did you expect me to tell her? I said that I had found someone else and that I'm sure she would fine someone much better than I am."  
  
"Pfft. Anyone in this village is better at relationships than you." Iruka grinned as Mizuki sighed.  
  
"By the way Iruka how are you holding up all by yourself?" Mizuki looked at his friend.  
  
Iruka paused for a second before he gave a sad grin. He had forgotten he had told Mizuki about the whole Kakashi incident shortly after the chunin had moved into his own apartment. "I'm doing good, I heard they are tearing down my old house to make some more apartments now that this village is starting to flourish so abundantly."  
  
"Is that so?" Mizuki looked at Iruka. "And you're okay with that?"  
  
"Yeah. I sold the place so it's not I have any say right?" Iruka stopped by the school swing and sat down in it. "Tomorrows the anniversary of their death."  
  
Mizuki paused as he grabbed the roped to the swing and started to push it side to side.  
  
"October 10 already? Heh, I guess that means it's the fox boy's birthday." Mizuki tightened his grip on the ropes before his grip loosened. "But I feel bad for you sometimes since you have to teach that despicable child."  
  
"Naruto?" Iruka paused for a second. "Yeah he can be a real brat sometimes."  
  
"Well I got to go Iruka, see ya." Mizuki did a small wave before he vanished leaving Iruka alone on the swing.  
  
"It is getting kind of late." Iruka looked at the sky before he got up and started to head home.  
  
Iruka looked ahead on the road to see that the ramen stand was still open. He felt his stomach growl a bit and remember he hadn't had dinner yet.  
  
"How could it hurt?" Iruka smiled as he pushed the flaps over to enter the ramen bar.  
  
"Welcome!" A man behind the counter smiled as Iruka waved back.  
  
"Iruka-sensei?" Iruka stiffened a bit before he turned to see Naruto staring at him wide-eyed with the Hokage right next to him.  
  
"Hello, Iruka-sensei." The Hokage smiled as he took another bite of ramen. "You are eating awfully late aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah........." Iruka smiled as he took a seat next t the Hokage and forced a smile at Naruto. "I didn't know you like ramen Naruto-kun."  
  
It was kind of weird seeing the fox boy after what Mizuki just said.  
  
"Like it?" The boy almost sounded insulted. "I LOVE IT!"  
  
"Oh?" Iruka couldn't help but grin as he ordered a bowl of beef flavored ramen.  
  
After there was a good few minutes of content eating before Naruto jumped up and smiled.  
  
"Thanks old man!" Naruto smiled at the Hokage. The Hokage just smiled back and ruffled the blonde's hair. "Bye Iruka-sensei!"  
  
"Bye." Iruka did a small wave as he watched his student run off into the dark.  
  
"He's a good kid." The Hokage stated kind of startling Iruka.  
  
Iruka smirked as the Hokage put his hat back on and exited the ramen bar with Iruka following after him.  
  
"Do you take him out for ramen frequently?" Iruka asked as the Hokage just nodded.  
  
"Whenever I have the time."  
  
"You like to stick with lost causes." Iruka teased as the Hokage raised an eyebrow at the chunin.  
  
"Yeah." The Hokage grinned at Iruka. "But you turned out okay didn't you?"  
  
Iruka paused at the Hokage's words as the old man disappeared with a wave. Iruka feeling that he suddenly had something to think over turned to the left and headed home. It was getting kind of late.  
  
All the while a small grin graced the chunin's lips.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi was finally able to sit down as all of his team made it back to the house they were using. He had to get Sayaka to help him stand for most of the way since he still wasn't used to using so much chakra from the sharingan.  
  
"What happened?" He looked at Obito who just sighed.  
  
Obito had taken the most injury from the genjutsu even though it was an illusionary technique the majority of Obito's body reacted as if it was really happening. As if he really was being squeezed to death.  
  
"I believe we have lost Itachi." The dirty blonde stated out flatly before he glanced as Sayaka who was staring at Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi tried to move his body but couldn't. He had exasperated all of his physical strength when he had decided to use both the Sharingan and the chididori. The silver haired shinobi let his head fall on the ground when he suddenly felt someone's intense gaze.  
  
"What?" Kakashi tried to sound forceful but was too tired.  
  
"Sorry." Sayaka turned her gaze away from Kakashi before she realized she was staring at him again. "How did you get that?"  
  
It scared her, that eye, she had only seen it on Itachi and even then it was unnerving. Was that the reason Kakashi was chosen to be one the mission? So that he would be the one to face Itachi?  
  
Sayaka felt her body shiver momentarily. What strength the Copy Cat shinobi must have to be able to master it even though he wasn't an Uchiha but it brought up her suspicions. How did he get something so powerful?  
  
Kakashi sighed as he closed his eyes.  
  
Heidaki.  
  
It had been awhile since Kakashi had visited his friend's grave. Or more like the memorial in which Heidaki's name was carved. He would have to go by once they got back in Konoha.  
  
"Leave him alone Sayaka and help me bandage Obito." Hayate barked at his girlfriend who listened quickly.  
  
Kakashi let his head lull to the side. It had been awhile since he had gotten a real rest and then after using his sharingan............Kakashi felt his eyes close as everything went black around him.  
  
Obito chuckled a bit before he realized Kakashi had fallen asleep. "When will he wake up?"  
  
"It'll probably just take a few days." Hayate commented as he finished the last bandage he was working on. "He depleted the majority of his chakra I would guess." There was a brief moment of silence before the attention was on Obito again. "What do we do now?"  
  
"We don't know where Itachi is anymore and if we back track it will take too long." Obito sighed as he looked out the window.  
  
"I guess this means we get to go home." Sayaka said softly as she finished the last bandage before glancing at Kakashi. "I think he is suspicious."  
  
"Sayaka........." Obito sighed as the girl glared at the Kakashi's sleeping form.  
  
Everyone stopped as they heard some noise near the door before some knocking followed.  
  
"Who would-' Sayaka was cut off as Obito forced himself to stand up ignoring Hayate's protests because of his injuries from earlier.  
  
Obito opened the door only to stare at a dark figure in front of him.  
  
"You're!"  
  
''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Well there you guys go! That is chapter 19! Even though it was a bit short for my liking I needed to end it there just for the fun of it!  
  
Oh and some exciting news is I have a car! I don't know if I mentioned this last chapter but I should be getting my license soon! Even though it is kind of late since I have already 17!! (cries)  
  
Oh well right?  
  
Well as I promised from above here is your sneak peek at chapter 20!  
  
''''''''''''''''''''PREVIEW ''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka lifted the sleeping figure on his back and smiled softly at the blonde boy.  
  
/ I wonder how long he's been out here? / Iruka looked at the sky to see that it was very close to midnight as he started his walk towards Naruto's apartment.  
  
The streets were practically empty except for the occasional shinobi who got stuck with night shift that passed by. Iruka smiled as he turned to head down a street he hadn't been down a long time. Since he was out here he might as well take a look at what his old home looks like now.  
  
Iruka lifted his head a bit as he saw a figure off in the distance staring at the apartment complex that was once Iruka's childhood home.  
  
Iruka raised an eyebrow. The apartments were newly built and hadn't been opened to public just yet so why would someone be here?  
  
Iruka was about to say something when the streetlight came on revealing the stranger's silver hair.  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka gasped as he took a tighter hold to the sleeping boy on his back.  
  
'''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''  
  
And that ends the preview! Next chapter I have a feeling will be much longer so I hope you guys are excited! (but I haven't written it yet so this preview might change a bit) --smirk--  
  
I hope you guys liked it and now I have to reply to reviews!  
  
''''''''''''''''''''Reviews! ''''''''''''''''''''  
  
assassin: Hey! Well I actually got the chance to update more quickly hehehe! Iruka is a stud in so many ways –blushes- man I love that chunin!  
  
TheTrueSilver: Don't worry there will be more angst! (looks at Kakashi plushie and mouths 'I-will-save-you') How dare you use Kakashi against me! You are so evil Silver!  
  
sabrea: You didn't ruin the ending! I was just saying that everyone should know that they will get back together but that still does not ruin the ending! (worried) You don't have to apologize for anything! You didn't ruin anything!  
  
nekomoongirl: I am glad that there is someone who can sympathize with poor Kakashi-kun! I'm sorry about your break up though but I am glad to hear that you are all right! Yeah and while most stories aren't a happy ending in reality its good to know I can make this one a happy ending!  
  
cdkobasiuki: Thanks for reading the story! I know you reviewed for chapter 4 so it might be a while before you read this chapter but in the mean time I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Thanks for the compliment on my details and I hope I don't fail it in the future chapters! OH AND YOU WERE MY 200th REVIEWER!!!! (throws plushies at you) YAY!  
  
Jenn: Boys are really hard to understand! Which is kind of weird because I would rather right about boys than girls thus my fics are yaoi instead of het. (I don't write yuri) My exams were good as far as I know so yay! And I am officially on summer break now! –squeals like a yoai fan-girl who found a KakaIru doujinshi-- Have a great summer!  
  
Dream Fox: Thanks and don't worry they will get back together! (but I am not ruining the plot or anything because a lot of stuff has to happen first! So keep reading!) thanks for the review!  
  
Ashiteru Duo: sadly you were not my 200th reviewer but I still love you! Yeah Kakashi has no idea what he is missing out on but I'm sure he will realize............eventually!  
  
Isolde1: I would love to answer that question but I have no idea what canon means? I know AU means like altar universe or something but I plan to stay with the manga for the most part! Of course as you can tell I add my own bits and pieces but sadly I do not plan on carrying out this story through out the whole manga instead I am just.........(pauses) I can't tell you that (laughs) well can you please tell me what canon means so I can answer your question more fully?  
  
Silver Neo: It is always a pleasure to reply to you! Hey and I have some news for you, Naruto or Sasuke might want to be beating up Iruka in the near future (laughs evilly) but I wont tell you why!  
  
Tear of Death: I love it when people beg! (laughs) don't worry they have to get back together but that doesn't mean its going to be easy! I have put some more angst in this story before I can end it and thanks for reviewing!  
  
Renn: Another person I love to reply to! Yeah Obito is awesome and he will bring some light and angst into Kakashi's life! If you read the manga then you should know what I will eventually do to Obito's character! And if you don't get the hint then it will just be a surprise!  
  
Kaiyo no Hime: I'm glad you still like this fic! I know its not angst centered but it does have some angst! Sometimes too much angst makes me have to right crappy one shots lol but don't worry you might be pleased to hear that angst is on its way! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: I love the hugs! (sighs) lets say if I am planning on doing something evil? Let's say another cut off chapter or maybe I decide that I want to kill of Iruka? What would you make me do? (just wondering) Please be nice since I don't plan to kill off my favorite chunin! But hey I want you to guess how next chapter will go since I gave you a preview and everything! If you get it right then the nest time I update my story I will update three chapters next week! While wearing a shirt that says 'I'm a slave to the fans' and singing all the lines to 'Earl Had To Die' by the Dixie chicks (oh how I despise them) and if you get it wrong then you have to write me a review that is over a hundred words while singing along to the theme song for Excel Saga the anime! (laughs evilly)  
  
Morien Alexander: It must have been really late when you reviewed because I felt I was reading something a foreign kid would say in English (laughs) but I know what you mean! I'm glad you like this fic and I love your fics! (smiles at the circle of love then gags) sorry...... Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!  
  
lemmings12: So many compliments! I love you! I hope I stuck with them in this chapter as well because I know that Iruka doesn't have that relationship with Naruto until around where the manga starts and even then it took a little while. That's not saying Iruka is a cold-hearted jerk that would leave some kid who passed out after training in the cold weather! (trying to justify preview for next chapter) lol! Thank you for on the in put and I am really glad you like how I am writing! You don't know how happy it makes me! Iruka and Kakashi's paths are something that I am currently finishing up so hopefully I wont disappoint you in the end!  
  
'''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''''''''  
  
I hope you are having a great week!  
  
Please Review! 


	20. Yo

I do not own Naruto! Because I am not as talented nor will I ever be as talented as Kishimoto-san!  
  
Well this is chapter 20! I hope you guys like it! I just found out that I failed Pre-Calculus so that means I have to go to summer school tear but it is only 12 days so it shouldn't be that bad. But I used to be so happy for summer because that meant more time I could spend on 'Growing Pains' but with summer school and a job it hasn't been working like I wanted it too!  
  
Well besides that.........sigh I was really happy about the reviews I got for 'Lessons in First Aid' because it was a really weird pairing but after I wrote that I actually found little Kabuto adorable! But who am I to compliment myself lol.  
  
Well here is the story so I hope you guys enjoy and have a great week!  
  
Enjoy!  
'''''''''''''''''''  
  
Chapter 20: Yo  
  
'''''''''''''''''''  
  
"We don't know where Itachi is anymore and if we back track it will take too long." Obito sighed as he looked out the window.  
  
"I guess this means we get to go home." Sayaka said softly as she finished the last bandage before glancing at Kakashi. "I think he is suspicious."  
  
"Sayaka........." Obito sighed as the girl glared at the Kakashi's sleeping form.  
  
Everyone stopped as they heard some noise near the door before some knocking followed.  
  
"Who would-" Sayaka was cut off as Obito forced himself to stand up ignoring Hayate's protests because of his injuries from earlier.  
  
Obito opened the door only to stare at a dark figure in front of him.  
  
"You're!"  
  
"Hello my comrades! My team and I couldn't help but take notice of your fleeting forms in the village and wondered if we could help?" A tall man with tanned skin grinned a thousand dollar smile at Obito before he pointed tot he headband around his waist. "You may know me as the beautiful green beast of Konoha, but I am Maito Gai!"  
  
Obito blinked a few times. He had made sure that they weren't followed and that they hadn't left any tracks for anyone to follow them with so how did this guy.........  
  
"If you doubt me then I must say I was able to follow you because you are carrying my eternal rival with you and he has a very unique chakra that I have battled many times." Gai did a pose before Hayate appeared next to Obito.  
  
"Gai-san." Hayate coughed a few times as Obito nodded.  
  
Obito was about to let Gai in when he looked at his surroundings. The trees moved as another gasp of wind came through and the team leader smirked.  
  
"Gai, you can tell your team to get out of the trees now that we have been able to identify you." As soon as Obito had finished saying that Gai smiled and three forms appeared beside him.  
  
"Well isn't Obito-kun good at playing ninja." A sharp arrogant female voice spoke up as the young woman gave Obito a toothy grin.  
  
"Anko-san it's nice to see you're still alive." Obito gave a bitter smile as the woman smirked at him.  
  
"Hey Hayate, was that Hatake Kakashi you guys were carrying earlier?" A young man with a beard lit up his cigarette and took a few puffs before looking at his sickly friend.  
  
"Asuma," Hayate coughed again but this time because of the smoke before he nodded. "Yes, that was Kakashi."  
  
The fourth member on Gai's team couldn't have been more than a chunin in Obito's book but then again there were many cases of kids younger than that becoming a jounin. The boy was probably in his mid-teens and had gruff looking hair and sunglasses over his eyes that gave him a mysterious look.  
  
"Chibi!" The boy glared at Anko as she smiled back. "You and your bugs go check the perimeter while we check on the other shinobi."  
  
A small nod followed a few hand seals as the boy disappeared.  
  
"Anko I thought I told you not to call Aubrame-kun that." Gai sighed before he went into the house that his rival was in. "So what happened to Kakashi?"  
  
They entered the room Kakashi was asleep in and Gai just took one glance at his rival before was able to make out the situation. If anyone knew Kakashi's limitations in battle it would be Gai but; Gai smirked as he thought; the beautiful Green Beast had a new surprise to show his eternal rival.  
  
"He just exhausted himself when we met up with some unexpected events." Hayate coughed a few times before he looked over at Gai.  
  
"So it looks like you guys just about got your butts kicked." Anko added her two cents in as she took a seat next to Obito who looked annoyed.  
  
"Why did it have to be you guys of all people?" Obito mumbled to himself before everyone noticed Gai kneel down beside Kakashi.  
  
Gai slowly took his rivals headband off causing a few people in the room to tense as he gently slid it off.  
  
"You shouldn't do that." Sayaka whispered unsurely as she now could see the eye that held that terrible thing even if the eye itself was closed.  
  
"Don't worry my young female ally! If anyone knows how to handle my rival it would be me." Gai gave Sayaka a thumb up causing her to be a bit surprised by the unique looking man.  
  
"Perimeter is cleared." Came a young voice as the young boy from Gai's team appeared in the middle of the room.  
  
"Thanks chibi." Anko smirked before she heard a sigh from beside her and took notice of Asuma lighting up another cigarette. "Excuse you!"  
  
Asuma raised an eyebrow at her before he blew smoke in her face. "How can I help you?"  
  
"You jerk!" Anko coughed some before she glared at Asuma. "I thought I told you that if you wanted to smoke then to keep away from me!"  
  
Asuma sighed as he stood up slowly and made his way out of the house. Who was he to argue over something so trivial when he would be granted alone time outside with his cigarette.  
  
"So what brings you guys out here?" Obito inquired as he looked at the three shinobi still inside the house.  
  
Two of them looked over at Gai and sighed as the beautiful green beast of Konoha gave a grin before he scratched the back of his head.  
  
"You see......" Gai took a glance at his rival before he faced Obito. "I have been gone for a while just like you guys but my mission was very different from yours."  
  
"Ah." Obito nodded, "And the other three?"  
  
"We were ordered to retrieve Gai and bring him back to the village." The boy with sunglasses spoke up.  
  
"Hey Noraiki-kun, Anko do you mind if I chat with Obito for a bit?" Gai looked at the two as Anko visibly sighed.  
  
"Do whatever you want weirdo." Anko suggested as she walked out of the room in a lazy manner being followed by the uninterested Aubrame boy.  
  
Obito gave one glance to Hayate and Sayaka before the two disappeared and it left only the two shinobi and one unconscious Kakashi.  
  
"What would you like Gai-kun?" Obito asked the younger man as Gai suddenly grew serious.  
  
"I need you guys to go ahead to the village," Gai paused for a moment. "And I need you to take Anko with you."  
  
Obito raised an eyebrow at the request. "Oh, why is that?"  
  
"You guys have obviously finished your mission whether you passed or failed isn't anything for me to hear but I still have some stuff I need to work with before I can return." Gai tired to explain without using too much detail. "And you would take Anko because obviously you can't take Kakashi with you right now so we would switch team members."  
  
Obito thought for a moment. Gai was right in the fact that their mission was over and whatever Gai needed working on was none of his business. If they did switch Anko and Kakashi then Obito would be able to leave in the morning and head back to Konoha to fill out a mission report.  
  
"Another reason why I suggested that we take Kakashi while you take Anko would be because it gives me an excuse to be out of Konoha for a little while longer while Kakashi recovers. Of course he should be back to normal in a week or two so I will be done with my research by then." Gai added in hopes that Obito would agree.  
  
Gai had no idea what kind of man Obito was but he obviously had to be trustworthy to be put in charge of a mission. But since Gai no connections to Obito he didn't know if the shinobi would allow this or just refuse his suggestion.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka sighed as he stared at his class. Only five minutes into the test and two of his students were sleeping. He watched as the rest of the students were diligently working and caught sight of a few cheaters every once and a while.  
  
Well, at least everyone would get the grade they deserved.  
  
Iruka was just about to close his eyes as he looked out the window before his ear caught some snickering near the door. With a very noticeable sigh Iruka turned his head sharply and glared at the student trying to make an escape.  
  
"Naruto where do you think you are going?" Iruka watched in a slight amusement as the blonde started to tremble a bit and smiled to himself. Who would have thought that the blond would be so scared of his teacher while the fox boy never should any cowardice towards the Hokage or anyone else in the village?  
  
"Uh........." Naruto smiled at his teacher and scratched the back of his head. "I was just going to the little boy's room, hehe."  
  
"Naruto I would suggest you pay more attention to the tests I give and actually pass one before you go off sneaking again." Iruka said in a bland voice a teacher usually gives even though they have no enthusiasm to do so.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto glared at his teacher as Iruka sighed.  
  
"Naruto you have the lowest grades in class!" Iruka decided to point our before he heard some snickers coming from the boy's classmates.  
  
"Well what do you know?" Naruto pouted at his teacher with a glare. "Just you see I will show all of you!"  
  
"And how are you going to do that?" Iruka asked sarcastically causing the boy to get angrier.  
  
"JUST YOU SEE SENSEI! I AM GOING TO GRADUATE NEXT YEAR!" Naruto pointed at Iruka catching the teacher off guard. "I am going to prove all of you wrong about me!"  
  
And with that Naruto took off out of the door way leaving a dumbfounded Iruka and a laughing class.  
  
"He looked like he was about to cry." One of the students whispered loud enough for Iruka to hear over the laughter.  
  
"Okay kids you still have a test to finish, next one to talk will fail!" Iruka stated sternly as he took one last glance at the door way.  
  
It wasn't the first time the kid had left in the middle of Iruka's class but this time seemed a little different.  
  
'I am going to prove all of you wrong about me!'  
  
Iruka sighed as he sat down again. That kid was something else if you ever asked the teacher,  
  
Something else indeed.  
  
Iruka sighed before he heard some knocking at his door. He looked up and gave a smile to his friend.  
  
"Hello Mizuki-sensei." Iruka did a small nod as Mizuki nodded back and entered the classroom.  
  
"Iruka-sensei." Mizuki walked over to Iruka and handed the chunin a small scroll from the Hokage. "You are to report to Hokage-sama immediately while I take over your class."  
  
"Really?" Iruka took one glance at the scroll before he stood up and patted Mizuki on the back. "Well they are testing right now so they should be easy to handle."  
  
Mizuki nodded as he skimmed over the class.  
  
"Hey where's the brat?" Iruka glanced up to look for who Mizuki was talking about but only seeing one desk empty meant that Mizuki was talking about Naruto.  
  
"Naruto ran out a few minutes ago but don't worry if he returns I want you to tell him he has to stay after school today so I can give him a lecture." Iruka was about to continue but stopped and smiled at his friend. "See you in a few."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Iruka did a few hand seals so that he disappeared and the reappeared in the Hokage's office. There the old man was writing on some scroll and turned to give a slight indication to Iruka to show that he knew the chunin was there even though Iruka already knew the Hokage knew he was there.  
  
"Hokage-sama you wanted to see me?" Iruka took a few steps towards the leader of their village and waited for the Hokage to reply.  
  
"Yes Iruka-kun, have you looked in the scroll I gave Mizuki to give you yet?" The Hokage grabbed his pipe from a table next to him and put done the brush he was using to write on the scroll with so that he was able to light up his pipe.  
  
"Yes Hokage-sama but I don't quite understand why you gave me this; it's just a name of all the students enrolled in the ninja academy." Iruka looked at the scroll in his hand. What a weird thing to give him.  
  
"Yes it is I am glad you noticed." The Hokage smiled as he motioned for Iruka to come sit in front of him. "You see Iruka I have been meaning to ask a favor of you."  
  
"A favor? Hokage-sama you know that I am willing to do anything for you." Iruka looked at the older man in front of him.  
  
"I know that Iruka but it isn't that kind of favor you see, I have been looking over your records as a teacher and a shinobi in Konoha and I am greatly impressed." The Hokage smiled as Iruka gave him a weird look.  
  
"But Hokage-sama I haven't done anything worthy of commending." Iruka stated quite truthfully. He had only done everything he was told to do.  
  
"But you see Iruka that is where you are wrong." The Hokage smiled softly at the young man. "I have seen you grow up into a great citizen of this village and I have a lot of trust in you."  
  
Iruka blushed humbly. "Your words are far to kind Hokage-sama."  
  
The Hokage just sighed. It felt like Iruka was holding back, the chunin was being far too polite, but then again the chunin was always very polite to him even when he was young. The Hokage looked at the sky to get a good view at what time it was, he would have to be heading out soon so he better skip the formalities of this kind of meeting and get straight to the point.  
  
"Iruka I put you in charge of Konoha's future." The Hokage stated bluntly.  
  
"WHAT?" Iruka looked at the man in front of him. What did the Hokage mean by that?  
  
"I have been looking for a new supervisor to look over the school and the youth of this village and it is quite clear to me and to the village's council that you are perfect for the job."  
  
"But what makes you think I am perfect for the job?" Iruka looked almost desperate. "I have no idea what you are telling me or how to do whatever you are saying I am now supposed to do!"  
  
"Don't worry Iruka-kun." The Hokage smiled. "You are the man for the job, I have faith in you."  
  
"But I......I don't deserve......"  
  
"Iruka you need to learn to believe in yourself. You have grown greatly from a few years ago. You used to rely only on other people but you slowly realized that you could rely on yourself, now I am asking you not only to rely on yourself but to have faith in yourself as everyone in this village had faith in you." The Hokage smirked. "You're a great guy Iruka and I hope that you take this job."  
  
Iruka paused for a second.  
  
The Hokage was right; he had changed a lot over so much time. Iruka was already almost 20 years old and here he was even at his young age having this conversation with the Hokage.  
  
Iruka smiled softly. "I would be honored to accept this privilege from you Hokage-sama."  
  
The Hokage took a puff from his pipe and smiled.  
  
Iruka really was a great guy.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
"So I guess we are off now." Obito smiled at Gai who smiled back.  
  
"May your trip be safe and full of youthfulness!"  
  
Hayate, Sayaka and Anko sweat dropped.  
  
"Aren't you only 23 Gai-san?" Sayaka asked. Why did this guy talk as if he was an old man?  
  
Obito took a glance at the sleeping figure on the ground. Kakashi had been asleep since yesterday and if what Gai said was right the silver haired shinobi should be waking up any time soon even if he wouldn't be able to move much.  
  
Obito silently wished that Kakashi would wake up before they left but sighed as he felt Sayaka pull his arm.  
  
"Obito-senpai, it's time to go."  
  
"Yes I know." Obito turned his head away from Kakashi and did a small towards Gai who was watching him. "Take care of him Gai."  
  
"I will." The man in a green suit did a thumbs up pose and smiled as the four departing ninja shook the image out of their heads and took off back home.  
  
"Hayate......" Sayaka looked over at her boyfriend.  
  
"Hn?" Hayate coughed as he noticed Sayaka give Obito a weird glance.  
  
"Is it just me, or was Obito acting a little dazed out back there?"  
  
"Yeah but I don't think it is anything serious, he's probably just worried about leaving Kakashi." Hayate stated as his girlfriend gave him a weird look.  
  
"Worried? Why would he be worried about Kakashi?" Sayaka asked as if it was the last thing she would have thought of but inside she knew what Hayate was talking about.  
  
"You know Obito." Hayate smirked. "He's never one to leave anybody behind. Teamwork is the key to survival and Obito will live forever."  
  
Sayaka laughed as they jumped from branch to branch with Obito leading the way followed by Anko.  
  
"Why doesn't Obito-senpai get along with Anko-senpai?" Sayaka asked as she noticed Anko smirking but Obito looking a little peeved.  
  
"She picked on him when he was a genin and she was a chunin." Hayate smirked. He remembered how much Obito hated that shorthaired girl; Anko would always bully Obito even though he was younger than her.  
  
"Really?" Sayaka shook her head. "It looks like Obito still holds a grudge."  
  
"Your telling me, at least you don't have to hear him complain about it later at the bar." Hayate coughed as they continued on their journey home. Konoha was so close, just a few days trip and they would be there in no time.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka sighed as he opened the fridge.  
  
Since when did it become empty?  
  
The chunin sensei tried to think of the last time he went shopping and when he realized that he couldn't remember whenever it was suddenly the empty fridge made sense. But why had he never noticed it being empty before?  
  
The chunin just sighed as he grabbed his wallet and zipped his vest as he headed out of the door. He might as well go shopping now.  
  
It was a beautiful day in Konoha and the chunin thought over his schedule. After he bought some groceries he would go by the Hokage's and tell the Hokage what was on the agenda for the next week.  
  
Iruka was never told that he was the personal secretary of the Hokage he just sort of took the job as he became more involved in the school. Iruka didn't really pay attention to the fact that in order to know what the Hokage is doing all the time meant that the Hokage had great faith in him he just figured he was doing his job.  
  
"Good morning Iruka-sensei." Iruka smiled at the produce clerk.  
  
"Good morning Nishio-kun." Iruka did a small bow and entered into the store to see that everything had been stock for the day. "Looks like I am your first customer."  
  
"Actually he is." The clerk smiled at the young teacher and pointed towards a tall dirty blonde haired man in the back of the store. "But you are definitely the second."  
  
"I guess second is good too." Iruka joked as he picked up a basket and went through the produce.  
  
He needed vegetables............the green peas and carrots were usually great this time of year and salad was very healthy. Iruka smiled as he started humming some tune he heard the girls in one of his classes sing.........he believed they said the name of it was 'Harmony' (1) or something along those lines.  
  
"Nice tune you got there." Iruka blushed and smiled embarrassedly as he turned to see the dirty blonde haired guy standing next to him with a grin.  
  
"Thanks." Iruka blushed before he picked up his basket full of food for the next week and headed towards the counter.  
  
"Will that be all for you?" The clerk asked as he went behind the cashier and smiled at Iruka.  
  
The dirty blonde haired guy eyed Iruka before he smirked and just shook his head before he got into line right next to the chunin sensei. Obito smiled to himself, he had just gotten back to the village last night and discovered that he had never cleaned his fridge when he left on that mission almost two years ago so he came back to one bad smelling apartment.  
  
"Thanks and have a great day Iruka-sensei." The clerk spoke catching Obito's attention.  
  
Obito turned and looked at the much younger man next to him that was paying for groceries. Was this Kakashi's Iruka?  
  
"Oh look at the time; if I don't hurry I'm going to be really late!" Iruka smiled as he put down the money and left the store in a hurry accidentally dropping some apples even though he didn't notice.  
  
"Hey, uh......" Obito picked up one of the apples that Iruka had paid for even though the chunin was already gone.  
  
"Will that be all for you sir?" The clerk smiled at Obito as the Anbu nodded. "Thanks and come again."  
  
"You bet." Obito smirked as he took a bite of the apple and looked down the street in the direction Iruka had left.  
  
He was really cute for a guy Obito admitted to himself, but he had finally met the guy that Kakashi had been so distracted with over the mission............Obito wondered how Kakashi was doing it would most likely be awhile before he would be able to see the silver haired shinobi again.  
  
"Well Kakashi, I met your Iruka and wanted to you to know that now I see why you are so hung up on him." Obito spoke to himself as he made his way down the street. "He seems nice and isn't bad to look at that's for sure."  
  
Obito thought about how torn up Kakashi must have been after they had broken up but the Iruka he had just seen looked perfectly fine. Obito thought on, he silently wondered what Iruka must have looked like the night after Kakashi had broken up with him.  
  
Would the teacher have still looked cute or would he have been a wreck?  
  
Iruka opened the door to his apartment and smiled as he put all his groceries up. He needed to hurry so that he could go ahead and head to the Hokage's otherwise he would be late.  
  
The chunin teacher noticed that he must've dropped a few apples since he had bought a dozen but only had three now. With a sigh Iruka put up the remaining produce and made his way out of the door while grabbing his clip board.  
  
It felt like it was going to be a good week.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Kakashi slowly opened his eyes even though he knew a pounding headache would follow and as if it was promised his head began to throb at the sudden flooding of light into his vision.  
  
"Good morning my rival." Kakashi froze as he turned his head to see a yawning Gai beside him.  
  
"OH PLEASE NO!" Kakashi forced his body to move as he jumped up and checked to make sure he still had all of his cloths. Kakashi sighed in joy when he realized nothing had happened as Gai gave him a weird look.  
  
"Your really weird you know that Kakashi?" Gai laughed as he picked up another scroll he was looking at.  
  
"Where is Obito and the rest of my team?" Kakashi let his body relax even though all of his muscles were still tense.  
  
"They went back to Konoha." Gai smiled before he stood up and patted Kakashi on the back. "I want to show you a new move I learned while I was gone so hurry up and get back to normal."  
  
"Hn." Was all Kakashi said before he smelt cigarette smoke and turned his head to see Asuma and some boy with sunglasses playing chess.  
  
"Looks like I beat you again Noraiki." Asuma laughed as the boy just made a clicking noise with his tongue as they set up for another game.  
  
/ This is going to be a long week. / Kakashi sighed as he started to move his muscles. / Might as well start training until I get my full strength back. /  
  
"My rival I can't wait until I show you this move! Then maybe you will respect me more and then I will be declared the strongest between you and me! Just you wait my rival haha!" Gai smiled at Kakashi.  
  
"Were you saying something stupid again?" Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders as Gai started shaking his fist in the air.  
  
"Why is Kakashi still so cool but whenever I say something people tell me I sound like an old man?" Gai let the tears fall down before he went back to his scrolls. "I'll show you who is 'hip' Kakashi."  
  
Kakashi sighed. He could just start walking to Konoha and train along the way. It would take a long time but at least he wouldn't be stuck with Gai any longer.  
  
/ This week is going to suck. /  
  
The sun rose over the house they were currently staying in as Asuma went through another pack for that day. Good thing he always packed extras just in case something like this ever happened.  
  
"Asuma-san what are they doing?" The young voice of Noraiki spoke up beside the jounin who just laughed.  
  
"Watch and see it can get quite interesting between these two."  
  
Kakashi panted as was barely able to avoid the majority of Gai's attacks. It seemed the Green Beast of Konoha had gotten a lot quicker than he used to be. Kakashi even had to use his sharingan to be able to read some of his friend's movements although he wasn't able to see the all of them because of Gai's increased speed.  
  
It had already been two weeks when Gai had declared that he would be able to show Kakashi the new move he got. Of course Kakashi just agreed to fight like it was another one of Gai's challenged even though Kakashi never took Gai lightly.  
  
The Green Beast after all was his eternal rival.  
  
"Ready Kakashi." Gai smiled as bent down into position.  
  
"Whenever you are." Kakashi smirked under his mask as he readied himself for the attack, whatever it might be.  
  
"Initial Lotus!"  
  
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"Iruka come drinking with me!" Iruka locked the door to his classroom and sighed at his friend.  
  
"No Mizuki I thought I already told you that I don't drink, it's unhealthy and many people do things they regret whenever they are intoxicated." Iruka glared at his friend. "Didn't you get kicked out of the bar because you slept with the owner's wife?"  
  
"Eh......" Mizuki blushed a bit with a grin. "We were both drunk."  
  
"And yet you keep getting drunk?" Iruka looked like he was lecturing a little kid. "I thought you would quit after you realized that every mistake you make is when you are drunk but obviously something bigger has to happen."  
  
"Like what?" Mizuki tried of thinking of something that would make him quit drinking. As long as he didn't remember anything of the night before then he was okay with it.  
  
"What if you wake up next to man one day?" Iruka teased as Mizuki suddenly paled.  
  
"That couldn't happen, I'm not gay." The chunin argued as Iruka just shrugged.  
  
"But you can't control yourself when you're drunk right? That's why you wake up with different women."  
  
"Well if I sleep with a man he would have to look a lot like a woman." Mizuki argued.  
  
"But doesn't alcohol impair your judgment?"  
  
There was a moment of silence before Mizuki groaned in defeat. So Iruka wasn't going to drink with him this week either.  
  
"Well if you change your mind Iruka then you know where I live, the bar doesn't open until midnight so I'll be there until then." Mizuki gave his friend a smirk as Iruka frowned at him. With a small waved Mizuki disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving Iruka alone to lock up the school.  
  
"Leave it to Mizuki to the poster child for promiscuity." Iruka thought to himself as he started walking home.  
  
Iruka heard some noises coming from the training ground near the school and decided to take a quick look since it was still rather early in the afternoon.  
  
Naruto looked at the notes he had taken from one of the girls in his class since he had been asleep during that period. He heard they were going to go over henge no jutsu in a few weeks and decided to catch up on his skills.  
  
"Hehe, if I learn this before everyone else then I could be the one laughing at them." The blonde snickered to himself as he did a victory sign to no one in particular.  
  
"Naruto?" Iruka looked around the training field to see that the blonde was the only one here.  
  
"SENSEI!" Naruto jumped up as if he was about to run but then paused. "Wait a second I didn't pull any pranks today."  
  
Iruka smiled as the boy glared at him. "I know that I was just wondering what you were doing here."  
  
"Oh um......" Naruto glanced around as he scratched his cheek. "I'm not doing anything."  
  
"Well uh, when you're done doing that then you should head home before it gets too late okay." Iruka smiled on the inside as he saw notes from his class behind the boy.  
  
Was the boy studying?  
  
Iruka turned around to leave suddenly proud of himself as a teacher. It didn't matter who the student was but when a teacher realized that the kid was actually putting effort into his class the teacher would be excited.  
  
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"What kind of attack was that?" Kakashi was barely able to speak as he looked up at the sky from the ditch he was in.  
  
His whole body must be broken......  
  
"Are you okay Kakashi?" Asuma looked down at his friend with concern before he jumped in the hole.  
  
"Asuma-san, Gai just passed out." Noraiki decided to mention when he peeked into the hole.  
  
"Well take him into the house; he probably strained his whole body with that kind of attack." Asuma sighed. "Now we are going to have to wait for both of you to regain your strength before we can go back home."  
  
"It's not my fault." Kakashi muttered as Asuma lifted him up.  
  
"You're the one who said that his green outfit made him look stupid." Asuma chuckled a bit remembering how mad Gai had gotten at the statement.  
  
"He said that my mask doesn't make me look cool and mysterious." Kakashi closed his eyes. Since when had Gai learned an attack like that?  
  
"You're both children." Asuma seemed amused as he walked into the house.  
  
Gai's new attack was something to be feared. Even though it put a lot of strain on the performer of the attack the damage done to the victim was phenomenal. Kakashi swore that the Gai and pushed his body into the ground for at least six feet and then while Kakashi received most of the damage Gai was able to get out.  
  
Kakashi couldn't move as he slowly thought of reasons why he was still alive.  
  
Asuma put out his cigarette with a smirk before he looked up at the sky through the window. 'Initial Lotus' was what Gai called it; the smirk grew as Asuma started having doubts on who was the strongest in this rivalry.  
  
The weather grew hotter as the weeks went by. It seemed that they had reached their record high when everyone had finally finished packing and set off for Konoha.  
  
Kakashi and Gai had found a new hate for chess as they were both beaten thoroughly by Asuma and Noraiki during the weeks they weren't allowed to move much.  
  
Asuma grinned as he touched his beard. It had been awhile since he last shaved as they moved farther a long they went on there path the more beautiful home became in their mind. Asuma had run out of smokes about a few days ago so he had become very irritable and instead of going easy on his fellow jounin in chess he even made Gai cry once when he beat the green beast in two moves.  
  
As everyone walked at least two feet away from Asuma they quickened their pace. If they kept it up like this they would reach Konoha by night fall............or die from dehydration, both of the choices seemed better than spending another day with an irritable Asuma.  
  
When the sun fell and the moon rose over Konoha, Obito smiled as he watched four very tired looking figures approach the gate.  
  
"About time you guys made it!" He called out to them receiving all their attention. "Welcome back!"  
  
"Heh." Kakashi stopped as he passed the gates and threw down all of his stuff. He had just realized he had no place to go and at a time like this all the hotels would be closed.  
  
"I will go give Hokage-sama the reports!" And before anyone could tell Gai what time it was the jounin was off.  
  
Noraiki just looked at everyone before he started heading home and Asuma was already gone, probably to the nearest bar with a cigarette machine Kakashi mused before he turned his head to Obito who was just smiling at him.  
  
"Are you going to go home too Kakashi?" Obito wished he could chat more with his friend but he had gotten night shift that day so he would have to be here till midnight and the morning shift people came.  
  
"I wish." Kakashi sighed. He had broken up with Iruka so there was no way he could go back to the chunin's house, not to mention he had no idea what he would say to Iruka if he did see Iruka in the near future.  
  
"Huh?" Obito raised an eyebrow at the silver haired shinobi.  
  
"Uh.........you see I don't have anywhere to go." Kakashi curved his visible eye in humor.  
  
"Where were you living before the mission?" Obito couldn't make any sense of the situation.  
  
"With Iruka......" Kakashi sighed and Obito finally realized why Kakashi had no place to go.  
  
"Well if you need a place to stay my apartment is always open." Obito offered with a smirk, "And since today's Friday I won't be home until late from the bar."  
  
"Thanks but no thanks Obito." Kakashi grabbed his stuff and curved his eye again. "I know Gai has a spare room so I will go bother him."  
  
Before Obito could protest Kakashi was gone. Obito sighed as he looked at the sky looked like he had at least two more hours of the night shift before he could get off. At least Kakashi would be staying with someone and not on the street Obito thought to himself.  
  
Kakashi dropped all of his stuff on Gai's floor knowing that the jounin wouldn't be home for a little while since his rival most likely went to wake up the Hokage to hand in his mission report.  
  
Kakashi looked out the window at the village of Konoha. It had changed a lot.  
  
"Maybe I should take a look around and see how much of it has changed......" Kakashi silently thought to himself as he slid off his vest and only took his kunai with him and his back containing his favorite book for a 'just-in- case' emergency.  
  
Kakashi admired how much the village had changed yet how it still looked so different even after two years. Kakashi slowly mused to himself how much had really changed when he found himself walking down a familiar street.  
  
The street lights didn't appear to be working and it seemed as if there was construction going on, Kakashi furrowed his eyebrow at the thought of someone building another house beside Iruka's.  
  
As Kakashi came to a halt at the area Iruka's house was supposed to be he just stared. Why was there an apartment complex being built here? Kakashi's eye furrowed, had something happened to Iruka? Was the chunin okay?  
  
Did Iruka move? Why did he leave his parents house? How long ago was it that he moved? Was he living with someone else?  
  
All these thoughts passed through Kakashi's mind as he just stood there staring at the new apartment complex. What was going on?  
  
Kakashi heard a few soft foot steps as he turned his head to see a hunched figure walk towards him. It was at that time that the streetlight decided to come on revealing a chunin with his hair pulled back carrying a younger boy on his back.  
  
Kakashi's eyes traveled up and down the chunin and across the scar on the chunin's nose. It was Iruka!  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka gasped as Kakashi just stared back.  
  
What was he going to say?  
  
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THE END!  
  
......... just kidding! I couldn't leave it there not with the preview I gave you right?  
  
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"Okay class, today we will be practicing Henge no Jutsu. Please transform into Hokage-sama." Iruka smiled at his class as a few kids moaned.  
  
It looked like the first kid on his list was going to be Naruto.  
  
"Naruto, please." Iruka stood in front of his student as Naruto did the needed hand seals.  
  
"Henge no Jutsu!"  
  
Iruka hit his forehead as the class broke out into laughter. Naruto had just managed to turn into Hokage-sama with huge lips!  
  
"Haha!" Naruto laughed as he turned back into normal. "I was just joking I did that on purpose!"  
  
"Give it a rest!" Iruka yelled at his student. "Naruto you've been at the school for three years! Now do it again you idiot!"  
  
There were a few whispers as Iruka watched patiently. Didn't he see the fox boy practice this jutsu the other day?  
  
Naruto started to shake a little bit before he raised his hands in the seals he need once again. "Transform!"  
  
Iruka watched as the cloud of smoke cleared revealing the Hokage.........with big lips once again. Iruka and the whole class were silent as they stared at the boy.  
  
"You......" Iruka thought with disbelief. "Can it be...?"  
  
Naruto transformed back into his normal self with a huge pout on his face as some snickering came from the back of the classroom.  
  
Iruka felt another head ache come on as he thought about the events that had happened that morning in class. He quickly shut the door and made his way out of the school. The kid had been in the school for three years and still couldn't do Henge no Jutsu!  
  
Iruka paused as he was about to pass the training field. Iruka stopped as he saw a bright figure not moving on the field and as he approached it looked as if Naruto had fallen asleep.  
  
Judging by the marks on the boy's cloths he must have been training out there for a long time. Iruka wondered how disappointed the boy must have felt when he couldn't do the jutsu.  
  
Iruka lifted the sleeping figure on his back and smiled softly at the blonde boy.  
  
/ I wonder how long he's been out here? / Iruka looked at the sky to see that it was very close to midnight as he started his walk towards Naruto's apartment.  
  
The streets were practically empty except for the occasional shinobi who got stuck with night shift that passed by. Iruka smiled as he turned to head down a street he hadn't been down a long time. Since he was out here he might as well take a look at what his old home looks like now.  
  
Iruka lifted his head a bit as he saw a figure off in the distance staring at the apartment complex that was once Iruka's childhood home.  
  
Iruka raised an eyebrow. The apartments were newly built and hadn't been opened to public just yet so why would someone be here?  
  
Iruka was about to say something when the streetlight came on revealing the stranger's silver hair.  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka gasped as he took a tighter hold to the sleeping boy on his back.  
  
There was a moment of silence as a warm breeze passed between the two men as none of them spoke. Naruto murmured something in his sleep on Iruka's back as Iruka just stared at the sight in front of him.  
  
Two years.........  
  
It's been two years, four months, three days.........  
  
Since Iruka had last seen the jounin.  
  
"Yo." Kakashi's voice reached Iruka's ears causing the chunin to shiver a bit as he stared wide eyed at the figure in front of him.  
  
They haven't seen each other in two years and the only thing Kakashi says to him is 'Yo'!  
  
Iruka opened his mouth but found that none of his thoughts connected. The chunin just stood there dumbfounded as he heart started to beat faster, why was it hurting? After all this time why did it still hurt so much to see the man in front of him?  
  
Why did Kakashi just say 'Yo'? Why didn't he just rip the chunin's heart out and kick it on the ground while he was at it? Yo! YO!  
  
Before Iruka knew what he was doing he found himself running up the steps to Naruto's apartment as he opened the unlocked door and dropped the kid off. He shut the door behind him and froze as everything suddenly decided to work in his head.  
  
Kakashi was back.  
  
He had just taken Naruto home and Kakashi was back.  
  
Well at least two thoughts were connecting. Iruka sighed as he felt tears begin to form in his eyes. He needed to talk to someone but who would be awake this late at night. Iruka tried to think of some of his friends and found himself knocking on Mizuki's door.  
  
"Please be here." Iruka was about to knock again when the door flew open to reveal a surprised Mizuki.  
  
"Are you okay Iruka?" Mizuki looked concerned at his friend.  
  
"I'm going to go to the bar with you." Iruka stated quickly.  
  
"Huh?" Mizuki was about to say something but shook his head and just nodded. "Okay but take your vest off and leave it here okay, you don't need to look like you're on your way to work."  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Iruka groaned to himself as he grabbed his head with his hands. His head really hurt, the chunin turned over and opened his eyes to look at a blue wall.  
  
Blue wall......since when did he paint his room blue? Iruka thought amusedly before it hit him and the chunin fell out of the bed.  
  
Iruka landed with a thud as his head was pounding and his eyes remained wide. Iruka felt a warm blush rise on his cheeks as he stared at the sleeping figure that was in the same bed he was once in.  
  
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(1)= Harmony is the song that Ino and Sakura lip-synch to in the ending to the Naruto anime in the second season.  
  
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And then I leave the story off at that part! laughs evilly  
  
Thank you for reading and I hoped you guys liked it! I have been having the worst week ever since I discovered the summer school incident but now I am in a good mood!  
  
Now to reply to your reviews!  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Reviews ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
SirenM: Thanks and aren't they cute! I hope I keep the interactions between Iruka and Naruto believable lol.  
  
assassin: For an assassin I would hope that you would be able to handle pressure and I am glad you liked your birthday present!  
  
Jenn: I have my license and my mom still won't let me drive by myself! But I am really good at those racing games even in real life I can drive a fast car and keep in control which is why she probably won't let be drive. I sped all the time with the driver ed teacher before I got my permit lol.  
  
sabrea: I hope you like this chapter too! The chibi was cute and don't worry the fact that you review every chapter shows me how much you like this story! Thank you for reviewing!  
  
saalis: My story isn't the best......blushes humbly ah screw that! I love you! Your English is good for it not being your native language and I am glad you like my story so much. I'm glad you like DDR too because that game is awesome! And don't worry I will keep updating even if that means I fail high school! (just kidding I wouldn't fail highs chool for this story sorry) lol  
  
kayla: well at least I brought them back together in the same village lol. I am so glad you like this story and thank you for the review.  
  
lemmings12: Thanks for all the compliments. I really try hard to keep this story close to the manga and anime so that it will be more believable in the fanfic sense. I didn't pay for the car myself my mom bought it but I have to pay for insurance so that is quite a lot since my mom added two new drivers at once but everything thing is good. When you finally get your license you are going to have a blast so just be patient!  
  
TheTrueSilver: Yes they finally see each other after so long! admires Silver's plushies but I don't think they will be able to cuddle for awhile since well......blushes you read the chapter above......Iruka well ya know......hehehe......or did he? evil smirk  
  
duenna: I am glad you like reading my story so much! I'm so happy that I am on your favorites list tear of joy thank you so much for reviewing and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as well.  
  
AD: 'Cry' is one of my favorite songs too! Thank you for reading this fic and I hope you enjoy it all the way to the end!  
  
Silver Neo: hehe enjoyed watching jealous Kakashi and Naruto fight over Iruka I ALWAYS LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! Man Sasuke your awesome! But hey I can't wait to see your reaction to this points to chapter 20 eh?  
  
Riyo-sama: I am so glad you like this fic that much! I hope to hear from you again and am glad that you reviewed! I hope you continue to like this story as much as you do now if not more!  
  
cdkobasiuk: I know you reviewed for chapter 5 but hey I still need to reply! Thank you for reviewing and yes it was a very sad chapter and very hard for me to write but it gets better for Iruka-kun doesn't it!  
  
Renn: Me? Evil? smirk what would make you say that? innocent shrug well I hope you liked this chapter and don't worry because the more I type it seems my chapters get longer!  
  
Isolde1: I plan to use canon then because I really want to keep this fic close to the manga even though in the manga Kakashi and Iruka having a relationship would be doubtful.........but then again blushes Thanks for the review and hope you liked this chapter as well!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: tries to laugh but just backs away please don't hurt me......ok for the bet! You have to guess who Iruka is waking up next to! And if you get it right I will update three chapters in one week but I wouldn't be able to do the mon, tues, wed......it would have to be Monday then Wednesday then Friday......but if you get it wrong you still have to write that really long review but instead of the song to Excel Saga you wouldn't have to sing because I just extended my days lol. Good Luck! And by guess I mean tell me who you think it is not just keep it to yourself okay! And don't take the hugs away okay!  
  
Dream Fox: Okay well I did my best to give you the chapter quickly so I hope you aren't disappointed lol. I like ramen too but my favorite is Oriental flavoring.  
  
Chicchai-raion: I hope you got some sleep! Hehe thanks for sucking up I found your review very humorous! I hope what Kakashi and Iruka said to each other wasn't that disappointing lol well gtg! Hope you liked this chapter!  
  
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Have a great week!  
  
Please Review! 


	21. Everything Has A Consequence

I do not own Naruto because lets face it if I did I would never be able to make a deadline so all of you would most likely hate me -  
  
Okay just so you know my computer got a virus and was out of work for a good two weeks even though that doesn't give me the best excuse because a lot more time passed I just wanted you guys to know that and Summer school has been a big burden!  
  
Normally during classes I would plot out my next chapter but in summer school the teacher took up all my paper and threw it away because she claimed I wasn't listening.  
  
Not to mention I also have a nic name as the 'doodler' because on the first day I got yelled at for drawing little chibis all over my notes. Now if she sees me drawing she takes two points off my total grade so as ya'll can guess I haven't been drawing or making more plotlines for the next chapters.  
  
I hope you guys like this chapter and I hope some of you enjoy the surprise of who Iruka truly wakes up next to!  
  
Enjoy!  
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Chapter 21: Every Mistake Has A Consequence  
  
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Iruka groaned to himself as he grabbed his head with his hands. His head really hurt, the chunin turned over and opened his eyes to look at a blue wall.  
  
Blue wall......since when did he paint his room blue? Iruka thought amusedly before it hit him and the chunin fell out of the bed.  
  
Iruka landed with a thud as his head was pounding and his eyes remained wide. Iruka felt a warm blush rise on his cheeks as he stared at the sleeping figure that was in the same bed he was once in.  
  
The figure groaned a bit at the sudden disappearance of warmth that used to be beside it as it pulled more covers around it. Iruka stared with his mouth open trying to think of the right way to react to this but nothing seemed to come to his mind except the pounding headache that reminded him that he was currently suffering from a hangover.  
  
Obito turned over in bed as he felt the sun touch his face, the dirty blond haired man smirked as he slowly opened his eyes. What a wonderful dream he had just had, he was able to save a beautiful princess and lived happy ever after.  
  
"Ugh." Obito sat up and rubbed his head before he noticed a figure on the floor in his room. He turned his head to see a very familiar looking man wrapped up in some covers from his bed.  
  
Iruka stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him. IT WAS THE GUY FROM THE GROCERY STORE!  
  
Obito sighed with a little amusement at the chunin's shocked impression. The Anbu captain also silently swore to himself never to go to a bar again, so much for waking up next to a princess............  
  
"W-who a-are you?" Iruka blushed even deeper at the stupid question to ask someone you just......Iruka's blushed deepened......with.  
  
"Oh, how rude of me." Obito tried to joke, "I'm Obito."  
  
Iruka forced his eyes to shut as he started to berate himself. What kind of person was he? He had given Mizuki lectures about these current situations and now look at him!  
  
Iruka could almost see the smug grin on his friends face......  
  
Obito just watched in mild amusement at the chunin's suffering, obviously Kakashi's Iruka wasn't that quick to notice certain things.  
  
How did I get myself in this mess? Iruka thought bitterly as he curled his legs up to his chest.  
  
Obito watched Iruka for a moment before he felt his stomach growl. "Hey you hungry?"  
  
Iruka looked up wide-eyed at the dirty blond haired man that was getting out of the bed. Iruka squeezed his arm feeling the fabric of his shirt between his fingers.  
  
HUNGRY? What is it with people and their communication skills? Iruka growled mentally first it was 'Yo' and now its 'hungry'!  
  
Then it hit the chunin!  
  
_'fabric of his shirt between his fingers'_  
  
"I'm wearing cloths!" Iruka proclaimed aloud getting a weird glance from Obito.  
  
"What did you think you were wearing?" Obito asked with a humored voice as he took a glance at his clock while rubbing his eyes. "Wow, it's already noon.........NOON!"  
  
Before Iruka knew what was happening Obito had pulled the chunin to his feet and was now running around his apartment in a frenzy grabbing all sorts of gear and something that looked like Anbu armor.  
  
Iruka didn't really pay much mind to the fact that the stranger Obito seemed to be in a rush, as he couldn't get the smile that formed on his face to go away. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! Iruka declared mentally proud that he hadn't made any mistakes in his life while intoxicated and made a mental note never to do something that stupid again.  
  
No matter what the circumstances.  
  
"Umm........." Obito appeared in front of Iruka in his Anbu uniform looking a little rushed. "I am having some people over here any minute now so uh........."  
  
Obito was trying not to sound rude but he didn't want to just plain say that Kakashi was supposed to be there any minute since he didn't know how the chunin would react to that.  
  
"Oh um yeah sorry!" Iruka blushed before he stopped and looked at the man in front of him. "If you don't mind me asking how did I get here?"  
  
"Oh..." Obito smirked to himself; yeah he would probably have to explain that wouldn't he. "Hey lets meet for lunch for tomorrow."  
  
"Huh?" Iruka looked at the dirty blond in front of him as if Obito was about to grow another head.  
  
"I'm in a bit of a rush but I'll see you tomorrow and don't worry about anything I'll pay!" And before Iruka could say anything he felt himself being pushed out of the bedroom and towards the door of the apartment.  
  
Obito grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open while pushing Iruka out. But suddenly froze as he shoved Iruka into some figure that happened to be standing in front of the door at the time. Obito smiled sheepishly as he felt Iruka go tense and slowly looked over the chunin to reveal one very surprised looking Kakashi.  
  
"Hey Kakashi!" Obito nodded.  
  
"KAKASHI!" Iruka all but yelled on the top of his lungs in surprise.  
  
Kakashi blinked a few times trying to register why Iruka was shoved into his chest by Obito of all people and why would the chunin be coming out of the tall blonde's apartment?  
  
"Hey uh..." All three figures turned to see a man with shoulder length purple hair looking at them. "Oh there you are Iruka!"  
  
"Mizuki?" Iruka felt his heart pound against his chest as his gaze broke off his best friend and went back to the silver haired man in front of him.  
  
Mizuki who was at first at a relaxed pace quickly walked over to the three men as he grabbed Iruka by the arm and pulled him away from the two other men sending a glare towards a certain Copy Cat Ninja before Iruka could see.  
  
"I went looking for you when you never showed up to brunch and after I asked some people they said that they saw you over here last night so I decided to come and get you." Mizuki smiled as Iruka tried to register everything in his mind but the only thing that seemed to flood in was images of the old Kakashi and the one in front of him now.  
  
Obito gave a toothy grin to Kakashi who in return glared at the Anbu captain before he returned his gaze to Iruka who seemed to have a hard time hiding all the emotions running through his system at that moment.  
  
Iruka opened his mouth as if to say something when he felt Mizuki's grip on his hand and turned his gaze to his friend suddenly realizing it wasn't just him and Kakashi.  
  
"We need to go Iruka." Mizuki stated as if nothing abnormal was going and slowly pulled Iruka down the stairs away from Obito's front door.  
  
"Yeah........." Iruka whispered grateful that his friend had shown up before he took one last glance at Kakashi and continued down the stairs.  
  
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Mizuki and Iruka walked in silence as the lavender haired sensei watched his best friend. Iruka barely even noticed that time had gone by when they arrived at Mizuki's apartment.  
  
"You left your vest here........." Mizuki let Iruka in and watched as the chunin sensei's eyes began to cloud up.  
  
Iruka nodded at his friend. What was he going to do now? Iruka felt conflicting emotions rise in him as he bit back a sob, he had to go somewhere he could think, he shouldn't be bothering Mizuki with all his minor problems.  
  
But before Iruka made it out of the door he was pulled into a tight hug where he tried to stare wide-eyed at Mizuki but only could see his friends shoulder.  
  
"Iruka I know you better than anyone here."  
  
Iruka let Mizuki's soft voice sink in as he felt tears form in his eyes. The chunin teacher clinged onto his friend's shoulders as he stood there with tears running down his face.  
  
Mizuki might have his flaws but he is always reliable when I need a friend, Iruka thought with a sad smile before they separated from there hug and Iruka wiped at his face before he gave Mizuki a sorrowful glance.  
  
"What should I do?" Iruka voice barely cracked.  
  
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Before Obito had any time to react his back hit the wall as he glanced at Kakashi, surprised by his friend's behavior. "WHAT THE HELL WAS IRUKA DOING HERE?"  
  
Obito was about to say something when he felt cold steel against his throat telling him to use his words correctly. Obito thought it over carefully, he could always joke around but then dieing at such a young age wasn't worth it or he could just try to give Kakashi the best clear answer and pray that he still had a body to place his head on.  
  
Kakashi growled as he glared at the dirty blonde haired man in front of him. IRUKA! His Iruka? Why was the chunin coming out of Obito's apartment?  
  
"I guarantee it's not what you think." Obito stated firmly hoping Kakashi wasn't getting ahead of himself.  
  
"Then what was that?" Kakashi snapped, muscles tensed ready for a fight.  
  
Iruka......the name kept going across Kakashi mind as he finally let his grip on the katana he had held Obito to the wall with loosen causing the blade to fall to the floor.  
  
"Umm.........let's discuss this inside." Obito sighed before he opened the door to his apartment fully and waited for Kakashi to enter before the followed the silver haired ninja.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Obito sat down and smirked at Kakashi. "Iruka is a really funny drunk."  
  
"What?" Kakashi was taken off guard by the statement and just looked at Obito as if he was insane. "But Iruka doesn't drink."  
  
"Well he was at the bar before I got there last night and must have been there for a while because he was pretty hammered." Obito waited to see if Kakashi was going to make any comments but when the copycat ninja made none he decided to continue his story.  
  
"Remember I told you I usually go to a bar a bar on Friday nights, well I decided to try out this new one I heard about and when I got there I noticed Iruka which wasn't really hard."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi was still having trouble trying to picture Iruka drunk at all.........and wasn't the chunin still underage?  
  
"I mean that he was practically surrounded by people, I heard he was popular in this village but that was just pathetic, everyone just trying to get a piece of him, them being all drunk didn't help." Obito paused for a moment. "I even got him to sing a karaoke song with me."  
  
"This doesn't make any sense!" Kakashi declared aloud as he ran his hand through his spiky hair.  
  
"Well it's true, I found him at the bar and he had apparently been upset about something because everyone was insisting on buying him a drink to help cheer him up or something like that." Obito sighed as he remembered the pathetic sight he had seen Iruka in. "That guy, Mizuki was it? He must have been the guy that took Iruka there but I didn't see him when I was there."  
  
"But how did he get here?" Kakashi had to try to keep himself calm. Obito had told him it wasn't what it looked like and it didn't seem like the man was lying to him. And Iruka was upset about something?  
  
Was it the fact that the chunin had seen Kakashi?  
  
"Well at first I was just going to try to get to know more about the guy since you seem to really like him but-"  
  
"You were going to take advantage of the fact that he was drunk to get information out of him?" Kakashi stated disbelieved. "Iruka isn't the kind of guy you have to force for information you can just ask him."  
  
Obito opened his mouth but then closed it as if he had just thought better before he continued on. "Well after I was finally able to make everyone leave the poor kid alone he passed out on me, and since I had no idea where he lived nor did anyone who was conscious at the bar I just brought him here and so that's how he ended up in my apartment."  
  
"So you didn't!" Kakashi said all too quickly before Obito cut him off.  
  
"No, we didn't."  
  
Kakashi suddenly found himself relieved as he took a deep breath. But that still didn't explain why the chunin was at the bar in the first place. Why had Iruka run off like that last night and who was the chunin carrying? There was no way Iruka could have a kid that age and the blonde hair......Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows.  
  
What was he not getting?  
  
"Is there something I'm missing?" Obito watched the silver haired shinobi in front of him closely.  
  
"We ran into each other last night..." Kakashi looked over at Obito as the dirty blond haired man started to understand some things a little more clearly.  
  
"You think that was the reason he was upset?"  
  
Kakashi thought for a moment as he let his fingers tap his slanted headband. Why did Iruka run away like that? All Kakashi had said was 'Yo' and as far as the silver haired shinobi remembered 'Yo' didn't translate into anything like 'hey-I-hate-your-guts' but the way Iruka had ran away almost made it seem as if......  
  
"I'm such an idiot!" Kakashi stood up suddenly distressed before he slammed his fist into the wall trying to find a release for his anger.  
  
Obito just stared at the younger man in front of him not knowing how to approach the copy cat ninja and not knowing what information had just crossed Kakashi's mind.  
  
"Man!" And with that Kakashi suddenly vanished leaving a very confused Obito.  
  
"Maybe he'll tell me later," Obito smirked before he looked at the huge dent in his wall and sighed.  
  
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Gai stared with a look of disgust towards his rival as he watched Kakashi stare out the window. The jounin had let his eternal rival room with him for the time being because Kakashi had no place to stay since he was; in Gai's words; 'an idiot'.  
  
Kakashi been sitting there since Gai had gotten home that day and hadn't moved an inch claiming that since it was his day off so he could spend it like he pleased.  
  
"Stop wasting what youth you have left my rival!" Gai declared with his loud voice but it didn't even make it to Kakashi or the copy ninja was just plain ignoring Gai, with way the silver haired shinobi didn't bother to move.  
  
"That's it tomorrow you are going with me to the mission assigning room whether you want to or if I have to drag you there by force but if you are living with me you can't mope around all day, especially since I have no idea why you are acting like this." Gai added the last part as more a parental threat than any thing else.  
  
Kakashi waited for Gai's footsteps to leave before he let out a sigh and watched the clouds float across the bright blue sky.  
  
He knew that whenever a mistake was made a consequence would always come but Kakashi had never put much thought into what consequence he would receive for breaking up with Iruka. The question now was 'is the punishment over?' and 'how do I fix this?' but Kakashi's mind seemed to always come up blank.  
  
How does a guy fix this?  
  
Kakashi thought over every mistake he had made before he left. He had broken up with Iruka. He had lied to Iruka. He had slapped Iruka in the process of breaking up. When he had returned the first thing he told Iruka was 'Yo'. He was a moron. If he hadn't broken up with Iruka in the first place this none of this would be happening and he would be able to be with the chunin right now.  
  
I'm such a selfish jerk! Kakashi thought bitterly as he looked at his discarded 'Icha Icha Paradise' book he hadn't been able to read since he had gotten back.  
  
Kakashi had tried to read it several times hoping that the book would get his mind of his mistakes and well.........Iruka but even the book wasn't working for him. Every tender love scene, every moment that the characters met, every instance of a pure romance set on the heart, Kakashi would remember Iruka.  
  
The sliver haired shinobi turned his gaze away from the window and the book as he rang his gloved hands.  
  
Not being able to read 'Icha Icha Paradise' had to be the worst consequence of this whole ordeal! The jounin thought before his eyes hardened.  
  
No, 'Icha Icha Paradise' was nothing. The worst consequence had to be that look Iruka had given him this morning. Kakashi turned his gaze back to the window as he watched a few birds fly by Gai's apartment.  
  
"I never want to see that look again." Kakashi told himself aloud. "Iruka deserves someone else, someone better, someone who hasn't hurt him."  
  
"But what if that isn't what he wants?" Kakashi stiffened before he let his body relax and he turned his head towards Gai who was sitting on a chair with a smug grin on his face.  
  
"You've gotten good at sneaking." Kakashi commented with a lazy glare, he hadn't wanted Gai to know what he was upset about.  
  
"You want some advice Kakashi?" When the copy cat ninja didn't say anything Gai continued. "People always say that you never truly know how much you love something until you lose it."  
  
"But I've always cared for Iruka." Kakashi stated quickly causing Gai to give a small glare for being interrupted.  
  
"You say that but if you really knew how much Iruka meant to you before do you think you would have broken up with him in the first place?"  
  
Kakashi was about to say something but stopped as he took a glance towards the ground.  
  
"But don't worry because even though you already lost him it doesn't mean you can't get him back." Gai had a small smile on his lips.  
  
"That doesn't make any sense. What does Konoha have a lost and found for these kind of situations?" Kakashi asked sarcastically causing Gai's grin to widen.  
  
"No my rival they have something so much better." Kakashi stared at Gai as his rival continued. "Konoha has the mission assignment room."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The assignment room, you know the place where-"  
  
"I know what the room is for Gai but what does that have to do with anything?" Kakashi asked almost impatiently.  
  
"Kakashi, we are both going to the assignment room tomorrow but before we do I need to give you this small piece of information so you may be prepared." Kakashi just stared at the green beast, 'what did he mean prepared?'  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Iruka is going to be there." Kakashi's eyes widened a bit as he looked at his rival before a small smile came to his lips even though Gai couldn't see it under the mask.  
  
There was a moment of silence before Gai decided to take his leave and Kakashi paced his hands to his chin. This was his chance! He could redeem himself and maybe find some way to be with the chunin again but how?  
  
Kakashi had spent most of the night thinking of a way to apologize to Iruka. Even though the silver haired shinobi knew a lot about what Iruka liked and disliked it didn't seem to be helping that much.  
  
How much had Iruka changed since they were gone?  
  
Did Iruka ever think about Kakashi?  
  
How long had Kakashi made the chunin cry?  
  
Had Iruka moved on?  
  
Kakashi put his Anbu uniform on as he watched the sun rise through the window in the room he was renting from Gai. Kakashi picked up the beautifully decorated dolphin necklace Iruka had given him as a present when they had lived together and tied it around his neck even though he hadn't had the heart to wear it since.........his mistake.  
  
Grabbing the katana, which was the last thing Iruka had ever given him and fastening it to his waist, Kakashi opened the door to his room and slid up his mask.  
  
He had been thinking of what to say to Iruka all night and only came up with something one thing. He was going to apologize in front of everyone to Iruka, and then he was going to confess his feelings for the young man all over again.  
  
A fresh start.  
  
Kakashi placed a hand over his chest as he took a deep breath. His chest would start hurting whenever he realized the possibility of Iruka turning him down but it wasn't like the copy cat ninja deserved Iruka's forgiveness after all.  
  
Kakashi just wanted the truth out there.  
  
He wanted Iruka to know how sorry he was and above all else......  
  
Kakashi wanted Iruka to know how much he still loved him.  
  
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Iruka tapped his foot patiently against the floor of the assigning room glancing back and forth as more people continued to enter.  
  
"Are you looking for someone Iruka?" The Hokage laughed in kindly manner as he startled the chunin.  
  
"Oh!" Iruka smiled at the man next to him. "Don't worry about it Hokage- sama, someone said that they were going to meet me today so I was just looking out for them."  
  
"Very well......" The Hokage patted Iruka on the back before he sat down next to the chunin. "So what is my schedule for today?"  
  
"You have a meeting with the feudal lords in an hour and after that you will have to talk to a few diplomats about treaty agreements again." Iruka smiled as the old man frowned.  
  
"I hate talking with those boring old fools." The Hokage sighed as he began to smoke on his pipe.  
  
"You sound just like a child." Iruka laughed before he straightened up some paper work. "Oh and I cleared your schedule after that so you could visit your grandson."  
  
The Hokage smiled at the thought of his grandson, Konohamaru had been growing so quickly the Hokage wished that the child's parents were still alive to witness it but it seemed the fate of a ninja was too powerful this time.  
  
"Thank you Iruka-kun." The Hokage smiled as he went through the paper work of random missions.  
  
Iruka tensed a bit as he saw Obito walk into the mission assignment room in his Anbu uniform. The Anbu captain glanced around before he noticed Iruka and smiled but before he could say anything a girl with purple grabbed onto his arm slowly being followed by a sickly looking ninja.  
  
"Hey Obito-senpai." Sayaka smiled as she seemed to have a huge blush on her cheeks as she glanced over to Hayate who was blushing too.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" Obito smiled at his two friends before he gave Iruka a quick glance causing Sayaka to turn to Iruka.  
  
"Hey isn't that Iruka?" Sayaka thought about it for a moment forgetting why she was really there before Hayate pulled her over to one of the desks and started talking to the shinobi behind the counter.  
  
Iruka waited for Obito to walk to his table before he smiled at the tall blonde.  
  
"You look well for having a hang-"  
  
"I would like to thank you for the other day." Iruka quickly cut Obito off as he blushed glancing at the Hokage hoping that the man didn't get what Obito was saying.  
  
"So you wanna go out for lunch?" Obito didn't bother wasting anytime in the chitchat as he felt his stomach begin to rumble.  
  
The room got quiet for a brief moment as all the shinobi behind the desk looked at Iruka for a moment before they got back to work. Iruka blushed a bit before he smiled at Obito and shook his head.  
  
"No I just wanted to thank you for the other day but I have already eaten lunch today." Iruka tried to sound polite as possible not that it was hard since he was truly thankful that nothing had happened to him while he was, the chunin cringed, drunk.  
  
"So I guess you don't really need me to tell you what happened anymore?" Obito sighed mentally, so much for gaining more information on who the chunin really was.  
  
"I think I already know enough." Iruka did a polite bow earning a chuckle form the Hokage next to him. "Thank you again."  
  
"Your welcome." Obito did the same polite bow in return even though he knew he was over doing it.  
  
Iruka smiled as Obito went over to another table to get whatever assignment he was supposed to be on as he sat back down in his chair finally relieved that it was over.  
  
"You're far too polite Iruka-kun." The Hokage teased with a toothy grin.  
  
Iruka smiled back as he went through more missions, it looked like he still had a few b-class missions to assign.  
  
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"Nice necklace." Gai commented as he and Kakashi walked to the entrance of the assignment building.  
  
"Thanks." Kakashi felt his chest pound. He was ready, it was now or never, and he had to at least try.  
  
Kakashi was about to open the door to the building when he noticed a figure waving at him.  
  
"Well if it isn't Kakashi!" A young man with shortly cut blue hair ran up beside the copy cat ninja.  
  
"Kaouri?" Kakashi looked at the kid he had been on a few chunin missions with.  
  
"Are you here for a mission assignment?" Kaouri smiled as he grabbed Kakashi's arm and dragged the silvered haired shinobi into the building with Gai following. "Hey I want you to meet one of my friends who work here."  
  
"Uh-" Kakashi was about to say something when he noticed Iruka standing in the corner, the shinobi was about to say something to his old friend when the young man shouted.  
  
"Hey Iruka! Come over here for a sec!" Kaouri smiled as Iruka nodded.  
  
Iruka nodded at his friend before he looked at the figure beside him. Kakashi! Iruka froze for a moment as he tried to think of what he should do. He had already started to walk towards Kaouri so he couldn't just turn around......  
  
Iruka closed his eyes for a second going over what Mizuki had told him.  
  
"What should I do?" Iruka voice barely cracked.  
  
"Do what you feel is right." Mizuki tired to give some advice.  
  
"But I don't know what to feel anymore! I mean when I saw him this morning it almost felt like I was......" Iruka felt the chain in his chest grow. "Almost like I was staring at a complete stranger."  
  
"Iruka I don't know what to say.........just go with your instinct." Mizuki sighed as he tried to comfort his friend.  
  
Iruka took a deep breath and picked up something from the desk he was passing to mask the delay in his walking over to Kaouri.  
  
"Hey Kaouri, are you here for a mission?" Iruka smiled nicely at his friend as he discreetly looked Kakashi over.  
  
Kakashi seemed so far from him.  
  
Iruka felt the pain in his chest grow; Kakashi was so far away but so close in reality. How could he feel like this?  
  
It almost seemed as if it was another Kakashi.  
  
A different Kakashi.  
  
Not the one Iruka fell in love with, but also not the one that broke his heart.  
  
The man in front of him was a stranger with a familiar face.  
  
That was all.  
  
"Yeah but hey I wanted you to meet the infamous Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi!" Kaouri then pointed to the very tense shinobi behind him as Kakashi stared at Iruka.  
  
"Uh we already-" Kakashi tried to say before he was cut off.  
  
"Hi." Iruka held out his hand to Kakashi. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Umino Iruka."  
  
They were only strangers now.  
  
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The heart is a very vulnerable part of the body.  
  
When it breaks it could take years to put the pieces together again as Iruka had learned over his lifetime.  
  
But since the chunin was too busy hiding behind a fake smile he didn't take the time to hear.  
  
As Kakashi's heart shattered,  
  
And the assignment room grew quiet.  
  
---------- (new divider) ----------  
  
The end of this chapter!  
  
K-chan's Review: OMG!!!!!!!!!! You suck.......cries tears for Kakashi you suck...sucky suckerson! Yeah that's what I thought you jerk  
  
P-sama: (sigh)  
  
Muwahahaha, for all of those people who didn't know who Iruka was going to wake up next too, lol. I was actually going to have Mizuki in the original plot but as the chapters progressed I just had to have it be Obito even though nothing happened. (blushes at the thought of Iruka and Obito doing stuff in the dark with random kinky noises)  
  
Thank you all for being patient and I hope you all liked this chapter and especially the ending, (evil laugh)  
  
Until next time my friends and fans!  
  
And now the replies to all of your reviews.  
  
---------- (new divider) ---------- REVIEWS ---------- (new divider) ------- ---  
  
assassin: Well I felt bad after I read your review and was like.........uh oh yeah I told it was going to be Mizuki! But it's all good now! Right? (pause) anyway remember Sunday! And I will try to get the next chapter out quicker!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: Well you won the bet so I have to write that one-shot and don't worry I am working on it! But it might take a while b/c of the comp troubles and I haven't had much time lately. (sigh) but I will write it and post it before the next chappie of 'growing pains' so till then! Congrats on winning!  
  
duenna: Well now you finally know! Did you expect it to be Obito? Did you like it?  
  
cdkobasiuk: Its nice to get so many reviews from you in a row! Talk about dedication being able to read all of my chapters in so little time! I'm also lad you finally caught up so now it wont be so awkward when I reply to your reviews b/c now I know you will get them! Thanx for being so loyal in your reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Is my detail really that scary? Is that good or bad? (lol)  
  
Hikari of Darkness: I'm not that cruel leaving you there but I might be saying that just because you now know who Iruka woke up next to (smile) but you don't know what is going to happen next now do you? (evil laugh) just kidding! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter too.  
  
TheTrueSilver: HOW DARE YOU STAB IRUKA IN THE EYE!! Even if it is just a plushie that is too cruel! You can't hurt them! (p-sama7 weeps along with Kakashi plushie) how could you? And we thought you loved Iruka......how could you?  
  
azura: You got it right lol. He woke up next to Obito and I was really surprised by your review because I though I was able to throw people off but I guess you are too good  
  
Mica-Chan: To tell you the truth my original plan was to have Iruka wake up next to Mizuki and I was planning something else then after I started to type chapter 20 I changed my mind lol. I hope it was for the best and I am glad you are into my story so much! It makes me so happy when people tell me that! And for the ages I would say that Iruka is about 20/21 and thus Kakashi is about 23/24! (meaning I only have two more years to fool around with before the actual manga starts)  
  
sabrea: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review and I hope to hear from you again. Oh and who did you originally think Iruka was going to wake up next to?  
  
Isolde1: hehehehehe......it was Iruka and Mizuki! But I guess if you really look at it, it was Iruka and no one because nothing actually happened. (sigh) But maybe later......hm.........  
  
Riyo-sama: Don't worry about summer school because it is officially over! I hope you liked this chapter too and have a great summer.  
  
Silver Neo: (smirk) you knew it huh? I laughed when I read your review! Hehehe poor Iruka and his 'golden god' image but hey no one's perfect. And Sasuke is pretty (blushes) So.........were you expecting it to Obito? (smirk)  
  
Razu: He wasn't in his right mind that's why! I mean he loved Kakashi and then the whole "Yo" incident! Why I would probably go get drunk if that ever happened to me and I wasn't underage......(sigh) but drinking is bad so don't do it!  
  
lemmings12: Iruka wasn't really blushing because it was someone he liked he was more blushing out of embarrassment and lets face it Obito isn't bad looking (nudge nudge) and I have to say every time I see your name I read 'lemon12' instead of 'lemmings12' lol and at first I was like 'what a pervert' but when I realized it wasn't lemon I came to the conclusion that I'm the real pervert (blushes). I just thought it was funny! Hope you liked this chapter too.  
  
anime teen: ..........you cry a lot don't you? (j/k) They will get back together but that doesn't mean I'm not going to have fun in the process (evil laugh) thank you for reviewing and I hope you like this new chapter too.  
  
Tenshisonnet: A little impatient are we? I know that I really need a beta- reader but I try my hardest to update asap so I don't want to have to rely on waiting for someone to proof read because crap happens and it already takes me long enough to update. I'm glad this is an overall good fic! And I am actually already working on 22 (which is new since I haven't posted this yet) so I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to follow! Sorry that it is taking so long for them to get together. (looks over your reviews since she reads in order of date) Wow you were my 'critiquer' weren't you? (j/k) Yeah I had some problems in my first chapter with Gai and Kakashi as 'sensei' and I should have changed that but I will get to it sometime. And I do have a lot of run-on sentences but if you also pay attention to my chapters you see that I hardly use comas so that might have something to so with it. But it's not like I am trying purposely to suck......I'm just not the greatest person in writing skills.   
  
Kami Beverly: You know you are the only person to mention the 'just kidding' part in last chapter lol. I know it was mean and I apologize (does a small bow) but that doesn't mean I will never do it again. (smirk)  
  
SweetMoons: Wow you got that I was trying to throw you all off! You must have been waiting forever for this chapter! (pause) .........I'm sorry (does polite bow) I will try to update quicker!  
  
usagi-hk: When I saw the Spanish review I was like 'woah! Either they are trying to find a nice way to tell me I suck or maybe they were trying to brag since I don't know Spanish and they do' (lol) I hope you like this chapter too and can't wait to here from you again.  
  
shadowehunter: Thanks! Kakashi will be happy........................eventually (smirk) I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and cant' wait till next time!  
  
Renn: When I read your review I was like 'you have no idea' but hehehe I guess Iruka has minor anxieties while Kakashi is really regretting saying 'Yo' now, ne?  
  
---------- (new divider) ----------  
  
Please Review!  
  
Have a great week! 


	22. The First Snow

I do not own Naruto!  
  
The last time I updated no more than 6 hours after updating I was in a car accident! I happened to have my friend with me; you may see her reviews as the 'assassin'. I haven't had the car for longer than a month and I haven't had my license any longer!  
  
So as punishment I have been really busy with insurance and all that stuff not to mention trying to find a way to get to work since my car is in the shop! (sigh) The worst part is that the wreck was my fault because I was turning left even though if you look at the damage to my car it is obvious that she ran into me. MAN!  
  
I hope you like this chapter and I am going to try to post another one before I leave for vacation so that way it won't seem like I am gone that long cause it will be about a 4 week break!  
  
I would like to take this time to apologize to 'assassin' and declare that I really am not a bad driver! (does good-guy pose) and I really am sorry about the whole accident especially since it was your first time riding with me! (sigh) but I hope you have fun in Indiana.  
  
Well I got to get ready for work now so I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter! It has a lot of flash backs so i hope everyone is okay with that! Ja ne!  
  
Enjoy!  
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Chapter 22: The First Snow  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
Obito clasped his hands together and rubbed them gently as stared at his broken heater. After mumbling a few curses he sighed with a grin before he stood up from the floor in his small living room and walked down the hall of his house.  
  
"Yo Kakashi I'm going to see if the repair shop is open." Obito smiled as he stared at a big pile of covers that he presumed was his roommate.  
  
"I should have stayed with Gai at least his place had heat that worked." Kakashi mumbled under the covers.  
  
"Yeah yeah, save it for someone who cares." Obito just smirked as the blankets moved a bit to reveal one Copy Cat ninja Kakashi, mask and all. "Remember Gai kicked you out after you failed your second group of genins."  
  
Kakashi slumped his shoulders a bit. "They weren't ready."  
  
"Even though the group contained the number rookie of the year? Everyone was surprised when they heard that they failed." Obito had to admit he thought the group was guaranteed to pass.  
  
"Just because you have the best skills doesn't mean you can handle the pressure of using them. The groups didn't know how to work together and I would rather pass a group of kids with no talent that knew teamwork over those sorry brats from the other day."  
  
"You seem very big on teamwork? What kind of test did you give them?" Obito stretched a bit as he left Kakashi's room and went into his own.  
  
Kakashi smiled a bit as he reached over into his packet and grabbed two bells.  
  
Obito didn't think anything of it when he didn't receive an answer and quickly put on his standard Anbu uniform.  
  
Winter was coming quicker than expected and many people were talking about snow already even though it was only November. The leaves had changed quickly and everyone was already wearing heavy jackets and scarves. The weather seemed to be affecting many people's moods as some people were already preparing for the Christmas cheer.  
  
It was funny when Kakashi had approached Obito for a place to stay since it seemed that the jounin would more likely live by himself than anything but Obito didn't bother asking questions, especially since Gai had pretty much kicked Kakashi out without any warning.  
  
But that happens when you find out your rival failed your nephew who had happened to be the top rookie of the year.  
  
"Oi Obito, I'm going to go with you to the repair shop. I think my katana should be fixed by now." Kakashi curved his visible eye.  
  
"Why do you look so smug? I thought that was your favorite katana, but you don't seem bothered by the fact that you cracked the blade when lightning hit it." Obito sighed, but then again at least it didn't break when slicing through something......  
  
"Yeah that was stupidity on my part......" Kakashi lifted up his right hand and smirked under his mask. "But I bet you wouldn't believe if I told you what I used to slice the lightning in two."  
  
"Why were you so angry to begin with? I mean I hear about people finding different ways to vent their aggression but I never heard of anyone actually going out in a lightning storm and trying to break the bolts in two." Obito looked over at his unique roommate.  
  
"Whoever said I was angry?" And with that Kakashi walked down the hallway before giving Obito another word.  
  
Obito just smirked a bit and followed the jounin down the hallway and out of the apartment towards the repair shop.  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
"Shikamaru-kun what are you playing?" Iruka smiled down at one of his students as he kept an eye over all the children during the brief recess.  
  
"Chess......do you know how to play?" The boy with a boorish looking face turned towards his teacher after he finished setting up the board.  
  
Iruka looked at the kid and scratched his head. This is the same kid you sleeps through more classes than Naruto skips yet he plays chess during his free time?  
  
"Shikamaru! Did you steal my crackers?" Another one of Iruka's students huffed up beside the ponytail boy.  
  
"Shut up Choji, you ate them during class."  
  
Iruka smirked a bit at the friends as Choji attempted to chew on one of the chess pieces and Shikamaru mumbling to himself as he tires to keep his friend away from the bored game.  
  
Iruka fixed his scarf as the cool air finally started to give his cheeks a pink color. The chunin looked around the field all the kids were playing in and was about to tell everyone to go back inside when he heard an indistinguishable laughter coming from the west, and it seemed to be getting closer......  
  
"Mizuki-sensei..." Iruka called to his friend that happened to be outside with his class as well.  
  
"Yes?" Mizuki looked up from the book he was reading on types of scrolls to see Iruka coming up to him.  
  
"I need you to watch my class for little while, it shouldn't take long." Iruka smiled.  
  
Mizuki was about to question what the chunin sensei was going to be doing when he noticed the annoying laughter too. Without any questions he just sighed and nodded as Iruka disappeared to go catch a mischief maker.  
  
Naruto couldn't help but laugh as he ran down the streets near the school; he had managed to escape the watch of his teachers for a few seconds and was able to fulfill his big plan he had today.  
  
"Get back here you brat!" A shinobi that was chasing Naruto yelled causing the boy to laugh more.  
  
"Losers!" Naruto yelled behind him as he started his escape down the alley ways of Konoha.  
  
Naruto couldn't help but shiver in excitement as he though of what he had just done. IT was by far the best prank he had pulled of yet! Just think about it!  
  
Who, other than the super genius, (of course) would have been able to come up with putting instant noodles in the water heating system!  
  
Just think that in a matter of three minute Konoha's water supply will be the biggest bash of ramen anyone has ever seen.  
  
"Ramen!" Naruto couldn't contain the outburst as he thought of his favorite food.  
  
Wait.  
  
To say it was just merely his favorite would be blasphemy! Ramen was a god. An idol. An object Naruto adored, worshipped, and above all else! He could eat it!!  
  
"Ramen, RAMEN!" Naruto snickered as he turned the corner only to run face first into a rather solid object. "Ouch!"  
  
Naruto rubbed his nose as he slowly opened his eyes to see a very annoyed...  
  
"IRUKA SENSEI!" Naruto jumped up and turned around only to see his teacher glaring at him again. Naruto looked back behind to see that there were indeed two Irukas and two Irukas brought Naruto's chance of escape from 'you are always caught' to 'impending doom in half the time'.  
  
Iruka took a deep breath before he clicked his tongue. Should he lecture first and then yell, or maybe punish then lecture......or he could just yell.  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
_"Yeah but hey I wanted you to meet the infamous Copy Cat Ninja Kakashi!" Kaouri then pointed to the very tense shinobi behind him as Kakashi stared at Iruka.  
  
"Uh we already-" Kakashi tried to say before he was cut off.  
  
"Hi." Iruka held out his hand to Kakashi. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Umino Iruka."  
  
A thud behind him caught Iruka's attention as he took his eyes off of Kakashi for a second and turned around to see the Hokage had dropped his pipe.  
  
"Hokage-sama?" Iruka looked a tad worried before the Hokage just smiled and muttered something that Iruka didn't quite catch.  
  
The dolphin teacher turned back around as he glanced around the assignment room to see a group of people staring at him wide-eyed. Gai mouthed something that Iruka couldn't comprehend but as the teacher looked at the face that Obito was making he suddenly got a bad feeling in his stomach.  
  
Iruka turned all the way around and smiled as he held out his hand to Kakashi once again only to see Kakashi staring at him as if he had no idea what to do. Iruka hadn't meant this in a bad way; he had hoped that this would be like a clean slate for the two of them. A way to move on or even a way to start all over again.  
  
Kakashi seemed to snap to his senses suddenly as he grabbed Iruka's hand and shook it but before Iruka could say anything the Copy Cat ninja disappeared. Kaouri blinked a few times before he sighed mumbling something about how weird some people were.  
  
Iruka didn't notice when his friend finally left as he stared at the place Kakashi used to be and then slowly looked at his hand that was still tingling from the firm handshake he just received.  
  
"Iruka-kun?" Iruka turned to look at the Hokage as the old man seemed really worried all of the sudden.  
  
Iruka tried to smile but couldn't bring himself to as his head began to hurt. He tried to open his mouth but nothing seemed to come out as he sighed.  
_  
"Iruka-sensei?" Iruka opened his eyes a bit as they started to close again.  
  
"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto yelled on the top of his lungs as Iruka suddenly jolted up and fell out of his chair.  
  
"What the-" Iruka took in a deep breath before he glared at Naruto who was frowning over him. "Naruto?"  
  
"Can I go NOW?" Naruto whined as he glared at his teacher. "It's already getting dark!"  
  
Iruka's eyes widened as he glanced out the window to see the sky was orange from the sun setting.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Naruto." Iruka stood up and smiled weakly at his angry student. "I didn't mean to keep you here this late. Why didn't you wake me up?"  
  
Naruto was about to say something when a blush went to his cheeks and he turned his gaze so that he wasn't facing Iruka anymore, the blond boy mumbled something that caused Iruka to sweat drop.  
  
"You fell asleep too?" There was a moment of silence as both sighed.  
  
Iruka cleared his throat before he smiled a bit. "You can go now Naruto, sorry for keeping you so late."  
  
"You don't have to apologize ya know." The blond glared at his sensei.  
  
"Huh?" Iruka was a bit surprised at the boy's outburst.  
  
"No one ever apologizes to me so you don't have to either." The boy huffed.  
  
"But people are supposed to apologize when they are at a fault." Iruka smiled sincerely at the boy before looked around at the other classrooms from the hallway. "I think we are the last people here......"  
  
Naruto watched his young sensei grab some papers as they both left the classroom. Iruka felt a little awkward as he locked up the school building and the boy still watched him.  
  
"Is there anything I can do for you Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked wondering if the kid was going to follow him around all night.  
  
"You're weird." Naruto stated a matter of a factly before the blond boy turned around and head home.  
  
"Huh?" Iruka sweat dropped as he watched the disappearing figure. Weird? What was that supposed to mean? Should he be insulted? Was weird good?  
  
"You're working late Iruka-sensei." Iruka turned around to see no other than the infamous Green Beast waving at him.  
  
"Yeah......working......" Iruka sweat dropped a bit before he started walking beside Gai as they made there way back into the streets of Konoha.  
  
"So Gai what did you want to talk about?" Iruka looked over at his friend as the Green Beast frowned a bit.  
  
"Iruka......why did you do that to Kakashi?"  
  
Iruka flinched a bit but he knew that someone was going to ask him some day, even if the event had happened a month ago.  
  
"Gai I......"  
  
"Iruka, I need you to answer this truthfully." Gai had a very serious face as he looked at Iruka when they stopped in the middle of the empty street. "Why?"  
  
"I...I thought it was the right thing to do..." Iruka sighed a bit. "When I saw him then it was if he was a stranger to me but......" Iruka bit his lip as he raised his hand to his hair. "It hurt so much after he disappeared......I don't know what to think......"  
  
"Iruka......"  
  
"I thought that if I did that maybe we could start over! Maybe we could......" Iruka shook his head before he smiled a bit at Gai. "I guess it doesn't really matter, I haven't seen him once since then, and it was just a mistake......"  
  
"You two are both idiots." Gai sighed. "Did you know he was going to tell you how he felt that day?"  
  
"He was going to what?" Iruka asked not sure if he heard Gai right. "What does that mean? Does he still......?"  
  
"Ohayo Iruka-kun, Gai-kun!" Both Iruka and Gai turned a bit to see Obito waving at them from his apartment window. "You know you two should be more discreet about your nightly rendezvous or else some people might get suspicious."  
  
"Nightly rendezvous?" Iruka blushed, that was definitely not what this was.  
  
"Hey Obito, is my rival there?" Gai had a flash in his eye as he thought of a possible fight they could have tonight. "I want to challenge him."  
  
"Kakashi?" Iruka asked as he looked up at Obito's apartment.  
  
"Yeah but he's busy right now." Obito laughed a bit at the disappointed face Gai had before he notice Iruka smirk a bit.  
  
"Hey Obito-san." Iruka took a deep breath before he yelled the next thing. "Tell Kakashi I am sorry!"  
  
"SHUT-UP! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!"  
  
Iruka sweat dropped as he realized he probably woke up the whole apartment complex.  
  
Obito just smiled as he watched Gai and Iruka run off as some people started throwing things out of there windows.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Gai asked as they came up to Iruka's apartment building.  
  
"You should always apologize when you're at fault." Iruka smiled with a faint blush on his cheeks. That felt really good to do that.  
  
"But......" Gai stopped and then smiled. "You're a weird guy Iruka."  
  
Not again. Iruka sighed, and this time I got called weird by someone as weird as Gai!  
  
Iruka smiled as he shut the door to his apartment and stripped out of his uniform so that he was in his general black shirt and pants. He shivered a bit when he realized that he had left a window open letting in all the cold air.  
  
He placed his forehead protector and hair tie and the night stand next to his bed as he let his long hair fall around his face. It had felt really good apologizing to Kakashi...I'm such an idiot, Iruka sighed as he plopped onto his bed looking up at the ceiling, but I really do miss him......  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
Obito turned his head to see Kakashi standing at his doorway looking at the ground.  
  
"Iruka-kun says he's sorry." Obito watched as Kakashi tensed a bit and then relaxed as Obito had a small smug grin.  
  
"I heard." Kakashi leaned a bit on the frame of the door.  
  
"So? Are you just going to leave it at that?" Obito smiled a bit as Kakashi turned around and placed his hand on the door frame.  
  
Kakashi laughed bitterly for a moment before he mumbled more to himself. "I should be the one that is sorry."  
  
Obito sighed a bit as Kakashi left and went to his room before he glanced out the window again. It was a beautiful night and the moon seemed to be shining over Konoha. A cold breeze came by forcing Obito to shut the window as he was able to see his breath for a bit in his own room.  
  
Good thing the heater got fixed!  
  
Iruka is definitely an interesting guy......Obito thought as he sat on his bed; I think that they need each other.  
  
Obito yawned a bit before he closed his eyes.  
  
An interesting guy......  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
_"We need to stop this, Iruka." Kakashi added more force to his voice to make sure Iruka knew he wasn't joking or playing a game.  
  
"Stop what Kakashi." Iruka's voice made him seem as if he was out of breath and the dark haired teen could feel his heart beat against his chest at the distant way Kakashi was holding onto his wrist.  
  
"Stop us."  
_  
Kakashi bit his lip as he turned over in his sleep.  
  
_"Oh kami............" Iruka pulled his arm out of Kakashi's grasp and let his back hit the wall as he stared at Kakashi searching for answers.  
  
"I'm sorry Iruka, but I've been thinking and........."  
  
"WELL THEN STOP THINKING!" Iruka yelled as tears threatened to come from his eyes. Why was this happening to him now when he was finally happy? He had the best job in the world with a great class of kids, was it wrong to want the person you love to be with you too?  
  
"I mean what grounds do you have for this Kakashi!"  
  
"I........."  
  
"Are you unhappy, is there something wrong? You know every relationship hits a few bumps, it's about time our's does, right?" Iruka thought over there relationship as if trying to figure out somewhere he had gone wrong, maybe he had made the jounin mad at him or something and if it wasn't that then............had Kakashi found someone else?  
  
"No Iruka I........." Kakashi watched as Iruka's eyes widened and it looked like the younger man had just seen his whole life taken away from him. It was enough to make the jounin's already distraught heart break.  
  
"Is there someone else?" Iruka's voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at Kakashi. His back hitting the wall as he watched Kakashi's every movement as if this was a bad dream.  
  
"No."  
  
"Were you just playing some game with me Kakashi, is that what this is? Or have you been lying to me for the whole time!" Iruka regained his balance and glared at Kakashi.  
  
".........I........."  
  
"STOP JOKING KAKASHI!" Iruka grabbed Kakashi's shirt only to be pushed roughly back into the wall and he felt a pain in his cheek as he looked up at Kakashi.  
  
"SHUT-UP IRUKA!" Kakashi held his hand. He didn't even realize he had slapped Iruka until he saw the tears fall down the chunin's cheeks as betrayal flashed across Iruka's eyes. Kakashi's voice softened but Iruka still winced when he spoke. "I'm not joking Iruka. I'm being very serious. I can't continue this relationship with you."  
  
"Iruka I ........."  
  
"If you are going to leave me like this Kakashi-san, the least you owe me is an explanation." Iruka glared at the jounin with nothing but disdain for the man in front of him rolling off his voice.  
  
"I'm so sorry Iruka."  
  
"Don't give me that crap Kakashi!" Iruka wiped the tears he felt on his cheeks, he hadn't realized he was crying. His chest hurt and he couldn't tell why, the only thing he wanted was for this to end. "You owe me some kind of excuse! Tell me a lie if you have to, I mean you seem to be pretty good at that."  
_  
Kakashi visibly flinched as he sat up. He gasped for air as he quickly wiped as his face. What was wrong with him?  
  
Kakashi could feel the tears roll down his face as he kept wiping them away hoping they would disappear. How long had it been since he cried last?  
  
Heidaki......Kakashi quickly stood up not caring anymore about the tears as he grabbed the nearest cloths and made his way out of the apartment. How many years had it been since he had visited that grave?  
  
Kakashi jumped down barefooted in front of the memorial stone as he shivered a bit. The warmest thing he had on was his pants, a t-shirt, and his scarf not that they were really helping in the cold weather.  
  
Kakashi knelt down a bit at the stone as he ran his fingers over the names engraved there. So many names had been added since he had last been there. Kakashi wiped his face a few more times as he finally found the name he was looking for.  
  
Kakashi's head was pounding as he finally broke down in front of the memorial stone. The last time he had cried was when the Fourth had held him and let him mourn over Heidaki's death. It had been nearly ten years......so much had happened since then.  
  
The Fourth was gone.  
  
The Uchiha clan was gone.  
  
Iruka was......  
  
He was......  
  
"Heidaki, I wish you would have let me die..."  
  
_"Don't mess with my hair I hate that."  
  
"I know but you remind of a little brother. Hey! That's an idea; we are now brothers. What do you say?" Heidaki smirked as he continued to walk around the town.  
  
"Brothers." Kakashi smirked under his mask.  
  
Kakashi was surprised to see Heidaki over him. His brother had taken the blow.  
  
"No!" Kakashi yelled as saw the sword go straight through his brother's chest.  
  
"Don't let this be......the first thing you fail......Kak......" Heidaki's body went limp as Kakashi stared in horror.  
  
Heidaki Uchiha. At the age of 21 was hoping to be able to be the next legend of Konoha Village. He wanted his younger cousin Itachi to grow up to be the best heir to his clan the village had ever seen. Heidaki wanted to marry his girlfriend and have three children who would grow up to be great shinobi. At the age of 21 Heidaki Uchiha died protecting his friend he considered a little brother._  
  
"I'm pathetic aren't I?" Kakashi stated as he sat up and placed his bare forehead on the memorial realizing he hadn't put on his mask or forehead protector. "You had dreams......you had hopes for the future and here I am complaining to you about being alive......"  
  
Kakashi closed his eyes as he turned over so that his back would be against the stone. "I'm sorry I haven't visited in a long time......a lot has happened......you remember Iruka?"  
  
_"So......why do we always find our way to talk about this Iruka-kun of yours?" Heidaki smirked as Kakashi thought about the question.  
  
"He's just so......I don't know. He just always finds a way to get on my mind." Kakashi glared at the wall that was in front of him.  
  
"You're too young to know you swing that way Kakashi!" Heidaki smiled as Kakashi glared at him now.  
  
"I didn't say that."  
  
"But you did."  
  
"No. I only said that I cared."  
  
".About him. You care; also known as love; about him" Heidaki paid the vendor before he stood up to leave as Kakashi tried to hit him.  
  
"Stop putting words in my mouth. Iruka is my friend and that's it." Kakashi glared at the Uchiha who ruffled his hair.  
_  
"Yeah you were right back then......I do love him......" Kakashi felt something very cold and wet fall on his nose as he opened his eyes to see little white dots falling from the sky. "Heh......it's snowing."  
  
Kakashi took in a deep breath as he became more aware about how cold his body was. If he didn't get warm soon he would probably freeze to death. Kakashi smirked bitterly before he stood up and wrapped the scarf around his face and placed a hand on the memorial.  
  
"Thanks for listening......brother." Kakashi took in another deep breath as he started to walk back to his apartment. His chest was feeling a lot lighter than even though his head was still pounding.  
  
Kakashi slowly made his way down the streets of Konoha until he came up to an apartment complex. He stared at the top floor as he noticed a light was still on. Kakashi took in a deep breath.  
  
"Iruka, I'm sorry too and I want you to know I lied four years ago......I do love you." Kakashi smirked to himself as he turned back around and went back to his apartment knowing that Obito knew he had left and would probably go out looking for him in a little bit.  
  
Iruka stretched a bit as he rubbed his eyes. He hadn't meant to stay up so late grading papers. The chunin yawned a bit before he realized he had left his light on. Iruka made his way over to the other side near the room for the light switch and took a glance out of the window and smiled a bit to himself.  
  
"It's snowing."  
  
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And that is chapter 22! Well? Well? What do you guys think?  
  
It seems we are getting closer and closer and closer the end of this story (starts to get teary eyed) but don't worry there will still be at least 3 more chapters......actually probably there will be 5 more......I don't know it always changes as you write more, ne?  
  
Well this chapter was kind of interesting to write and I hope I haven't made them too OC? It's hard to write what I want or at least it's really hard to put it into words sometimes......I'm sure ya'll know what I mean. (sigh)  
  
Now to answer reviews!  
  
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Reviews TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT  
  
Riyo-sama: I hope summer school ends soon for you! Well I hope you like how the story continues to unfold until the end. And I hope you liked this chapter! Can't wait to here from you next time!  
  
TheTrueSilver: lol Oh I hope Kakashi-plushie doesn't do anything too rash to you! Thanks for the review and until next time (hopes the plushies don't take revenge) Hope you liked this chapter!  
  
sabrea: How is my sister mean to you? Should I beat her up? (grabs katana) and Oh No not the frying pan of doom! (eyes chibi suspiciously) you wouldn't......would you?  
  
Mica-Chan: It's more like Kakashi has changed a bit but Iruka has changed the most. It's like if you haven't seen someone for a few years and then meet them again, they are different people. Please don't kill Iruka or Kakashi! I know that a lot of stuff happens that they could have prevented but keep in mind I'm the one writing the story! Yeah Kakashi's life really sucks......just wait until next chapter. Kakashi's slept with other people, but Iruka was his only serious relationship. I would try to make it more obvious that Kakashi has had other relations but it kind of doesn't work since I am currently trying to find the best way to put them back together.  
  
Evil Kasumi: to tell you the truth (whisper whisper) I wouldn't mind reading an Iruka and Obito fic either......hehehe. Mizuki is a good friend isn't he! Until it comes later......hehe well I hope this ending was a lot better! Till next time!  
  
Nikole StarGazer: Hehehe. I should have done that chibi thing but too bad summer school was already over when I got advice. (snaps fingers in disappointment) Well Kakashi has finally let got of all his built up tension, hehehehe well ttyl!  
  
Isolde1: ......it is sad (I secretly hope that this chapter was sad too) Thanks for the review!  
  
duenna: well a lot is in store for them......especially Kakashi next chapter. (evil laugh) I guess you will have to wait and see.  
  
Jecir: (looks at Iruka) well he was kinda cold last chapter wasn't he? Oh no! Please don't cry! Yes Iruka was mean but it took me forever to come up with that ending! I loved writing it so don't be so sad! And don't wallow in your fangirl angst cause it will work out!  
  
Renn: Thanks! Yeah it's going to kind of be poor Kakashi next chapter too (I think) I hope you liked this chapter too!  
  
VertigoMesmerizer: Yay! Thanks for the complement I tried to make there relationship on the extreme side but at the same time something that might actually happen. That's actually kind of funny that you just randomly guessed Obito...... (sigh) man I must suck if you were just able to randomly guess it. Well I hope I am able to write what I want to happen for how they get back together. Ja ne!  
  
CMAK: I'm sorry! I hope that not all the stories you read next are cliffies! (dodges cattle prod) Well I updated shortly after you review!! Yay!  
  
Bakasaru Boi: Hahaha I love your name! Idiot monkey boy!! Your reviews made me reread my story so I would know what you were talking about lol! I'm glad you like my story I hope to continue hearing from you!  
  
Kami Beverly: hehehe yeah but hey you can't be too hard on Kakashi can you?  
  
aNiMePeRfEcT: (blushes) Why thank you! I hope I updated quick enough!  
  
Jenn: It's great to hear from you again! I'm so sorry you were deprived for so long. Well I am glad your back and I'm glad that your computer finally started working!  
  
lemmings12: Okay I will try to make it more with a different pattern! This will be my new challenge! (does Lee pose) muwahahaha! Hope you liked this chapter!!  
  
anime teen: I was just teasing I know you weren't really crying! Yeah I don't think I would have been able to put Obito and Iruka together in a relationship like that because this story is already lasting really long if you know what I mean. I hope you liked this chapter and I will try my best to stay out of trouble!  
  
Silver Neo: No! Don't shave Sasuke-kun! And Kakashi how dare you try to trick Iruka!! You clever person you (nudges Kakashi) hehehe. And Sasuke and his clones (laughs) Man I had really needed your review! I was in a car wreck and everything but your review made me laugh! Please keep them coming and I hope you liked this chapter.  
  
katana-hime: (reads your review over) I don't know whether to take some of that as a compliment or an insult really...... (sweat drops) but I know my other fics sucked so I will try my best not to ruin this one too! I think I have done a good job thus far don't you? Hehehe but I'm definitely not better that JK Rowlings (blushes) you tease! (jk jk) I hope you liked this chapter too and can't wait to hear from you again.  
  
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I hope you all liked this chapter!  
  
See you next time and I hope you guys are having a great month!  
  
Please Review! 


	23. There Once was A Dirty Blond Anbu

p-sama7 looks out from behind a corner

It has been a while hasn't it? ...............

IM SO FREAK'IN SORRY!!! I planned to update before I left for Europe but that didn't happen and then I was going to type while I was in Texas but my disc broke and when I finally got back to NC school was starting and they were still working me 32 hours a week at my job!

Okay well enough of my excuses because I need to make an announcement,

THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER!

Just kidding!

Growing Pains was given birth almost a year ago and I have finally made it to the last chapter. But don't you fret because there is a Epilogue that I will have out for ya soon! And I am sooooo sorry once again about how long it took to update this chapter!

Did anyone know that Microsoft Word expires? Well I didn't and then the day I was going to respond to all your reviews and then post it I click on Word and its like sorry your crappy software expires Aug. 31 go and waste your money and update me!

Ooh almost forgot the disclaimer.......... I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE NARUTO CHARACTERS!

Actually this was supposed to be the last chapter but after I replied to all the reviews and rereading it I decided I didn't liked how it was goig to end so now you have antoher chapter and an epilouge to rely on!

takes a breath

Okay so without anymore complications I give you chapter 23!

Enjoy.

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Chapter 23: There Once Was a Dirty Blonde Anbu

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A very young boy with dirty blonde hair smiled brightly as he was handed his hitai-ate leaf headband. At the young age of eight Obito had graduated from the ninja academy and was now going to get the chance to prove himself in the world of the shinobi.

"Yo, short stuff you graduated?" Obito glared at the rest of his graduating class.

"Hey guys the shrimp graduated!" Another boy called out to the classmate as a few of the girls snickered.

"Watch what you guys say cause I'm going to be tall when I get older!" Obito stated as he pouted a bit.

"Did your mom tell you that?" Obito blushed a bit and the class started laughing again causing the dirty blonde to sigh before he found his seat.

So what if he was short for his age, maybe being shorter than the girls just made him an obvious target for teasing but he would show them one day. He was going to be the tallest person here when he was older and then what would they say?

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"Yo shorty." Obito gave a toothy grin as he placed his elbow on his friend's head.

At 16 Obito already stood 6'3'' and still had room to grow. The now Anbu member had already gotten his revenge from his former classmates when he had graduated to chunin before them, and when he had grown at least five inches taller than them.

And when he became an Anbu before they even had the option.

And when he was already recognized as a talented member of the leaf at such a young age.

And how he had already been given several occasions to take the jounin exam even though he had declined in favor of the Anbu squad.

Yes, revenge was sweet for 'short stuff'.

"Obito stop being a jerk." The shinobi Obito was using as an arm rest coughed a bit causing the dirty blond to grin.

"Don't worry Hayate-kun. I'm sure you'll get to be taller when you're as old as me." Obito grinned at the young genin that would most likely make it to chunin in the up coming exam.

"Obito-senpai, is it true that Uchiha Heidaki is an Anbu squad leader?" Hayate coughed a bit as he watched his friend.

"Yeah, he's a cool guy too and from what I hear he has the youngest Anbu member on his squad." Obito smiled a bit as he thought about the other squad leaders. "Hopefully I'll get the next promotion to squad leader ne?"

"I hope not." Hayate coughed as he smirked at the dirty blonde Anbu. "We all know you would probably kill off your team on your first mission."

"Little smug brat!"

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"Something is coming!"

Obito heard a young voice cry out as he turned his head to see a red glow coming form the forest. The Anbu leader waited for the signal before he took off with his team.

The 18 year old dirty blond gaped at the sight before him. The beast howled with a piercing scream before it lunged itself at oncoming shinobi.

Obito and his squad took off towards the beast. They need to stop its movement somehow. Needed to kill the demon fox or else everything in Konoha......everything would be gone.

The battle seemed to last forever as only minute by minute went by. Obito felt someone grab his waist and pull him back as a tail swept by in the place where he used to be.

"Watch your back!" A young teen with a bowl cut yelled as he took off to help other people.

Obito quickly got to his feet as the fox lunged forward only to be pushed back. The Anbu was about to perform another jutsu when something caught his eye. The dirty blond noticed a small figure running towards the fox.

Obito's eyes widened as he realized it was just some kid genin. The dirty blond was about to do something when another tail came his way. Obito quickly dodged and when he looked back in the direction of the kid he realized the fox had moved in that direction.

The kid must have......

Obito growled a bit as he started performing another jutsu only to have it interrupted by the sight of a giant frog in the distance.

The fourth had finally come.

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"An Anbu squad leader at the age of 13! It's ridiculous!" Obito sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"You're just jealous." Hayate coughed a bit with a smirk.

"So what if I am!" Obito admitted truthfully.

"He's the heir to the Uchiha clan; of course he is going to be a prodigy." The chunin coughed a bit more before he sighed. "And it's not like......"

"Hello?" A young girl with short purple hair walked in the small meeting room and looked around before she looked at Obito and Hayate. "Hey there."

"Can we help you?" Obito yawned as she smiled at him.

"My name is Mitsuo; I am looking for......"

"Himoru Sayaka?" The girl turned around to see a young teenage with sharingan eyes looking at her. "You're on my team; I will be with you in a second."

"Thank you." Sayaka did a small bow before she turned around to see the two guys from earlier looking at her strangely.

"Why were you introducing yourself as Mitsuo, Sayaka-san?" Obito asked bluntly as she sweat dropped.

"That's none of your business." She looked over at the younger boy and smiled as he blushed a bit. "Well what are your names?"

"I'm Obito." Obito held out his hand for her to shake as she just gave it a glance before turning to Hayate.

"And what's your name?"

"I'm Hayate." The chunin coughed a bit before Itachi appeared again and Sayaka left with him.

Obito watched Hayate for a few seconds noticing the blush on the chunin's cheeks before he grinned. "You think she's cute?"

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Obito ran his hand through his shaggy dirty blonde hair. It had been awhile since he last cut it and he kind of liked the shaggy bed-head look so it didn't really matter.

The Anbu stared lazily at the clock he had next to his bed before yawning and turning over. Today was the only day he had off for another three weeks and he and he would be stupid if he didn't sleep in. Of course it wasn't until he heard someone enter his apartment that he realized he probably wouldn't be getting to sleep in today.

"Obito? Are you awake yet?" Obito groaned when he heard the intruder open his bed room door. In his mind he was mentally slaughtering his guest but before he could get to the good part he felt a sudden splash of cold water on his face.

"I don't like it when you smile when you sleep." Sayaka smirked as Obito glared at her. "Come on senpai, you promised to shop with me today."

Obito furrowed his eyebrows at her. "When would I ever be stupid enough to promise you something like that?"

Sayaka gave him a knowing smirk before she flipped her long purple hair and placed her other hand on her hip. "When you're stupid enough to get hammered in my presence then you are stupid enough to promise to spend your only day off with me."

With that Sayaka turned around and left his room giving Obito the chance to get ready for his 'eventful' day with her.

At least now Obito knew why his head hurt so much.

"Obito are you coming?" Sayaka yelled from the living room.

Oh how Obito regretted the day he met her.

"Hey where's Kakashi?" Sayaka questioned out loud as Obito entered the living room slipping on his shirt.

"What do you mean?" Obito yawned and reached for his coffee pot only to see the contents inside were a few weeks old.

"Ew, I hope you don't drink that. There's mold floating in it." Sayaka stated matter of a factly before she repeated her first question. "Where's the idiot? I thought Kakashi was-"

Sayaka stopped there and looked at the ground. Obito raised an eyebrow at her as she sighed and switched her balance to her other foot before she look at Obito again. "I heard rumors that a lot of his missions haven't been going smoothly so the Hokage put him on suspension."

Obito felt a bitter taste fill his mouth and as the taste suddenly registered he spewed it out of his mouth realizing he had just taken a sip of the coffee.

"Hey! Watch were you aim! This is the skirt I'm wearing for my date with Hayate tonight!" Sayaka checked over the white fabric and sighed thankfully when she saw nothing had gotten on it.

"Sorry........." Obito coughed as he rinsed his mouth out in the sink. "And no Kakashi hasn't been suspended.........at least that's what I know, he didn't get in until late last night and left earlier this morning."

"How suspicious. Why didn't you stop him?"

"Kakashi is, as far as I'm concerned, an adult and last time I checked I wasn't his keeper." Obito found a small bottle of sake and took a sip hoping to get the rotten taste out of his mouth.

"Well sorry for bringing it up then, now come on. We have to hurry before the holiday rush starts up. I don't know about you but I don't want to have to fight a few house wives just so I can buy Hayate a Christmas present." Sayaka grabbed her jacket and scarf and quickly put it on before she made her way out of the apartment being followed by a sullen Obito.

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Obito rubbed his hands together as he waited outside of the store for Sayaka to finish. Why did he have to be here? Wasn't Hayate her boyfriend? Was it Obito's fault that Hayate just happened to be lucky enough to be working today?

No! It wasn't Obito's fault! So then why was he out here in the cold with snow on the ground?

"Obito is that you?"

I'll tell you why he was out there. Because he wanted to have a good time last night that's why. Never ever go drinking with your friends! As Obito continued to berate himself for living life Iruka approached him again.

"Are you feeling okay Obito-san?"

"Huh?" Obito looked up and smiled at Iruka who seemed to be worried. "Hey Iruka! What brings you out here on such a cold day?"

Iruka smiled slowly before he placed his hands over his mouth as he tried to warm them up quick. It really was a cold day in Konoha but that didn't mean things were going to slow down for poor school teacher, in fact the reason that he was even out in the weather was that he had to run a few errands.

"I'm actually out here because I have to find a few people." The chunin stuff his hands in his pockets realizing that breathing on them wasn't providing enough heat.

Obito opened his mouth to say something when he noticed something off in the distance. Was it just him or was Kakashi in the alley on the other side of the street?

Iruka noticed this and was about to turn around when Obito got his attention again.

"So who you looking for?" Obito gave a toothy grin.

Iruka blushed a bit but Obito couldn't tell since Iruka's cheeks were already pink from the cold air.

"Actually I was looking for Kakashi." Iruka sighed a bit. It had been awhile since he had last seen the Copy Ninja, in fact when he heard Kakashi's name on the list of people to find the chunin practically volunteered for the job.

"Did he do something?" Obito asked trying not to glare at the figure in the alley way.

"Oh no, actually I needed to see you too." Iruka reached in his pack he had tied around his waist and pulled out a scroll. "I know this is your day off but we decided to go ahead and give you the instructions for your mission tomorrow."

"Is this the same reason you were looking for Kakashi?" Obito watched the figure in the alley way shift a bit and smirked knowing that Kakashi was listening to them.

"Well that was one of the reasons......" Iruka mumbled off not really paying much mind to Obito.

"You still like him don't you?"

"Of course I still like......" Iruka's eyes went wide as he turned around to Sayaka smirking at him.

Obito stared at the younger Anbu. Who would have thought that she knew and even if she knew who would have thought that she would ask Iruka that question straight out.

In the alley across the street there was a sudden thud and some noises that made it seem like someone just knocked over a few trash cans. Startling Iruka even further.

"I-i-i-i-i-i-i........." Iruka's face seemed terrified and confused for a second before he covered his mouth and quickly walked off.

"At least he finally realizes the truth." Sayaka sighed but before she could say anything Obito cut her off.

"Do you think he was ready for the truth?" Obito glared at Sayaka hoping she wasn't just trying to get a kick out of teasing Iruka.

"Too late to ask me that." Sayaka winked at Obito before she turned around. "Don't worry everything will work out."

Obito sighed as Sayaka walked into the next door. It wasn't until the Anbu remembered Kakashi was in the alley did he run over and look to see what had happened.

Kakashi laid on the ground staring at the sky with a serious expression on his face even though he was sprawled out on the ground and that it was obvious that he had hit his head on the trash cans.

"Kakashi-kun?" Obito was about to say something when Kakashi groaned.

"After all this time......" Kakashi closed his eyes. "I really don't deserve him."

"I know." Obito smirked. "But what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know."

There was a moment of silence before Obito growled. "Listen Kakashi! You finally realize that Iruka still has feelings for you, you need to do something. No more of this I-don't-deserve-anything crap okay! The fact is the longer you make him wait the more I lose respect for you."

"It isn't that simple......" Kakashi glared up at Obito.

"But that's what you're not getting Kakashi! It is that simple. Iruka isn't a complicated guy so stop trying to complicate your relationship with him."

"So you're saying I should just go up to the guy and go 'Hey Iruka I love you t......" Kakashi paused a bit and Obito smirked as he leaned over his younger friend.

"That's exactly what I am saying."

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Obito tapped his foot on the ground testing for any signs of suspicious behavior. He, his team (which now included Sayaka) and Kakashi were sent to investigate an area not to far off from the Hidden Stone Village. Normally shinobi from the other village would be doing this kind of work but it was said that they spotted missing leaf nins so the Hokage asked permission o take care of it and the Hidden Stone permitted.

"Everyone split up, if you spot something then say something in your speaker otherwise everyone is on there own. Be careful and follow your gut, I have a bad feeling about this place so just in case anything happens I want everyone to meet here in two hours." Obito nodded at his team and they dispersed leaving him by himself.

Obito quickly went towards the north as he heard everyone start to report their findings in their mics. Obito was about to jump onto the next tree limb in front of him when he heard Kakashi's voice come on.

"Chssssshhhhhhhh. Found what looks like an old ware house. Chssssshhhhhhhhh. Going to take a quick tour. Chssssshhhhhhhh."

Obito growled a bit, "Kakashi, wait for more back up."

There was no silence of the speakers for a few seconds causing Obito to turn around and head the direction Kakashi went.

Stupid idiot not taking the mission serious......Obito frowned and got on speaker. "Everyone head northwest in the direction Kakashi went. When you get there I want a report about where Kakashi is."

There were a few rogers and Obito sped up knowing that he would probably get there before everyone anyway. But to his Surprise as Obito jumped out into a very small opening he saw Sayaka waiting for him.

The building was very well hidden for what was supposed to be some warehouse. With vines growing up the sides and trees surrounding some of the walls it was obvious that this little warehouse wasn't meant to be seen by the normal eye. And if whoever was hiding this building that badly there would most likely be a few traps inside.

Meaning Kakashi just walked into a trap.

Obito growled to himself, it wasn't that he doubted Kakashi's abilities; it was that he really had a bad feeling about this.

"Kakashi is waiting for us inside; I believe his speaker doesn't work due to how the building is built." Sayaka stood in front of the door as more Anbu appeared behind her.

She always looks more serious on the job; Obito smirked at her under his Anbu mask.

Obito nodded before they entered the building, the dirty blonde Anbu captain in the lead as he held a kunai in front of him just in case.

The inside of the warehouse was surprising. The walls were covered in some sort of dirt and moss that made it look like they were underground instead of in a man made building. Water was dripping from the ceiling almost making the place seem as if it was far deeper in the ground than all the shinobi had originally thought.

But it wasn't an illusion.

Obito was about to take another step when he paused, all the Anbu readied themselves as they felt the vibrations on the floor board get stronger. Obito was about to give them a signal to hide when he felt the familiar chakra running towards them.

There was a loud hissing noise that filled the hallway just as Kakashi appeared. Obito gave him a nod before he noticed something that looked like a closed off shaft.

Good.

Obito was about to say continue as all the shinobi stood still even with the loud hissing noise screaming in their ears, and then he saw it.

A huge snake speeding towards them.

Kakashi was yelling something but Obito couldn't hear as the leader growled and was about to ready himself when he looked down and saw snakes. Millions of snake surrounding their feet.

Obito growled knowing they weren't there a second ago, someone was using a summoning no jutsu.

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The fight with the big snake had proved harder than expected; most of his team was wounded when the ceiling caved in on them, revealing that they had somehow made it underground. No one was dead yet and Obito planned to keep it that way.

The building started to quake causing Obito to look down the hallway realizing that there was a figure making its way towards them.

"Run!" The team was surprised by the angry and fearful look in Obito's eyes as he pointed in the direction of the shaft.

Obito noticed everyone hesitate realizing they hadn't noticed the figure yet he yelled again. This time Sayaka and the Anbu did as they were told but Obito glared at Kakashi before he realized the jounin was trembling with the building.

Kakashi had seen the figure.

Kakashi knew why Obito was making them run.

Kakashi couldn't move.

"Orochi-!"

"Kakashi, go now!" Obito cut off the jounin as Kakashi looked at him.

Obito was about to say something when he paused and placed his hand on Kakashi's chest. The jounin obviously wasn't paying attention as Obito smiled sadly and whispered in his ear.

"Don't waist this life."

Before the jounin knew what hit him, he was in the shaft with the rest of the Anbu and watched as Obito smirked at him and slammed the doors shut.

"Obito!" Kakashi yelled realizing he was on the floor and jumping up to bang on the door.

The shaft moved causing everyone in it the get on their knees as it felt like someone had flung it in the air only to come crashing down a few miles off from where it had last been.

But Obito wasn't around to see his friends get out with a few cuts.

Wasn't around to see Kakashi's and Sayaka's faces when they went back to the building only to see it wasn't there anymore.

It was a trap.

It was a trap.

And it was all Kakashi's fault......Obito wasn't there.

If he hadn't........

If he had.........

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No one had ever realized how important Obito truly was in their lives; the key to their happiness was lost, dead.

Gone.

Kakashi sat at the memorial stone out on the training field and stared at the newly carved name. It had only been a month and everything had changed so much.

Obito had been part of a family. Hayate and Sayaka were as much part of his life as he was theirs and when Sayaka realized that she could no longer be the same she once was she broke off her relationship with Hayate.

Hayate had taken the news the hardest everyone had decided.

Literally disappearing from the world altogether as he watched his and Sayaka's relationship go down the drain. At first he had blamed her, she was there after all, but he knew it wasn't true. He then disappeared.

And here Kakashi sat in the pouring rain just after he had completed another mission.

He should have gone and turned in the mission report.

Or at least gone to the hospital to get the gash on his back checked out.

But Kakashi had a promise to fulfill. He may have never said it out loud but he had promised Obito this.

And he had promised himself.

"Kakashi, shouldn't you get out of the rain?" A friendly yet worried voice came up behind him.

Kakashi turned a bit to the side and smiled under his mask as Iruka watched him back. The jounin slowly got up in a way not to make his back hurt and turned towards Iruka as his wet hair fell over his eyes.

"Iruka........."

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Time progresses.

Nothing ever stops.

People are born,

And people die.

But in the end we can only turn the page and read the next chapter.

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Okay! Well that was chapter 23!

(looks around) Well?

THIS CHAPTER WAS FULL OF SO MUCH BAD KARMA! My Word stopped working and when it did I would find something wrong or would be too busy or for the few weeks my internet got fried! It's amazing I even finished it really!

Again I am sorry but here you go! The replies to your greatly adored reviews!

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Jenn: Don't worry I already have an idea for a story I can do next but I'll probably take a break for a bit but in the mean time I have a story I already wrote a while back (like middle of Growing Pains time) so I will probably post that while I am on my little break. Hehehe I will have to get back to you on the lemon thing because even if I try to write one I don't like how it goes so it might take some more self confidence in my writing skills to go that far. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next time.

Letta: Thanks smile.

Kaiyo No Hime: Yes yes it is an end to this stories angst anyway. But I will have to admit that it will probably be a while before I write a story without any angst so I hope you stay around and read the next one.

sabrea: my sister was mean to you! How dare she! goes into Lee-chan fighting stance I shall make her apologize! I hope you liked this chapter too and see you next time!

anime teen: That would be really cool! I'll be waiting for your email then. I hope you enjoy this chapter too even though it isn't as funny......well sort of......anyway yeah I hope you like it and can't wait to hear from you again.

Silver Neo: gasp Your dad is responsible??? That is creepy you should interrogate him for me. Hehehe Sasuke using your cloning machine laughs I always love your reviews! huggles Neo man I'm so sad that this story is ending cause that might mean.........dare I say it.........no more of your awesome reviews! cries I hope I can write another story just as good as this one if not better so that you can come and review that one too! See you next time and I hope you like this chapter.

usagi-hk: lol yeah sadly this will end someday......tear but Iruka really is an honorable character isn't he? sigh Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

ChibiRisu-chan: Yeah well the paperwork sucked big time but other than that .........yeah I know that was a bit harsh snickers I just really like writing scenes like that. Thank you for the review and I hope you like this chapter too and the next one also!!

TheTrueSilver: Do you need help? glances at the evil plushies attacking Silver I hope you liked this chapter too!

Hitokiri Kitsune: takes award I don't know what to say......I would like to think all the little people I had to step on to get this far......Really! Your way too kind but thanks for the compliments! I am so glad you like this fic that much and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

katana-hime: No it wasn't rude at all! Thanks I am so glad you like this fic and you don't to worry about grammar when it comes to my reviews because I am sure you all can tell that I am not that great with grammar either! laughs I hope you liked this chapter and have a nice week.

Riyo-sama: Thank you for such good compliments and I am sad that this is going to end to but like you said, everything has an ending. I'm glad summer school is over for you and I hope you enjoyed what was left of the summer!

Jecir: I originally was planning to get that far but as the story continues I'm thinking that everyone knows what has happened in Naruto manga or at least has an idea, so hopefully the prolog will make up for me not actually going through the manga. I hope you and your sister enjoy this chapter and thank you for the review.

Dream Fox: OMG! I can't believe no one has made a soap opera with ninja yet! That would be hilarious!! I hope my story is as.........corny as soap operas to say.........well I guess I can't say anything because I have never seen a soap opera. Hehehehe well I hope you like this chapter and thank you for the review.

shi-chan: If he had looked out the window then what? The story would be over and nothing. But the fact that he didn't look out made you feel all those things thus making the story a lot more interesting ne? hehehe you're the second person to mention me going into the soap opera business......maybe I should lol. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Sailor-in-Pink57: (author laughs her butt off) OMG! I loved your review. Thnakyou so much for all the compliments and I am so glad that your BB recommended this fic to you! I am so glad you like this sotry but I'm not really that good! I'm so golad that you really like the characters and I'm happy you think I have kept them in character for the most part. Yeah the Heidaki and Obito thing kinda freaked me out but in the end it has worked out ne? Good luck trying to glomp the real characters because they are tricky lil'buggars! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too and can't wait to hear from you again.

SweetMoons: Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! I'm trying to makethe KakaIru relationship come back together so see you next time!

Danyella Skyler Silverfire: I'm glad you like Gai now because he really is a great character! Hope you enjoy this fic and can't wait to hear from you next time.

Yuen-chan: I promise they will get together sometime so no worries alright! I'm trying to update as soon as possible but school and work is really getting in the way but no worries because I will do my best to bring out next chapter as soon as possible! And theres nothing wrong with being addicted hehehe.

Lupin-lover4-ever: Thankyou for the nice review and don't worry because what would a KakaIru fic be if they weren't together?

lemmings12: No your right most of my chapters I want to continue or I end up doing something that forces me to end it quickly other wise there wouldn't be anymore chapters to write. Don't worry cause they are getting together or are together already......either way you want to look at it.

cdkobasiuk: I'm sorry! Please don't attempt to hold your breath in waiting for my chapters to update cause we all know how that'll turn out and I will never get a review from you again and that would make me sad! (tries not to cry) please review again!

Assasin1369: Hehehe I like you name change and all! Woohoo! Here's another chapter and I hope you enjoy it but if you don't then hope you don't decide to be mean about it lol (pfffft. Like you could be mean!)

Renn: Thank you and hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

VertigoMesmerizer: (laughs) Hehehe well I tried my best on getting it out quicker and sorry about the sneak peak thing but seriously? Do you really want one? Poor Kakashi so misdirected all because of me and no worries because I do plan on having them get together! Until next time!

Kami Beverly: Yeah don't we all feel sorry for the jounin.........(im sooo mean to him!!! cries)

Elly Stormrage: lol Thank you for the review and you will know soon enough yeah? (evil laughter in the background)

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Please Review!

And have a great weekend!


	24. Sound of Rain

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO NOR DO I KNOW KISHIMOTO-SENSEI THUS MAKING ME FARTHER FROM OWNING THIS THEN A FEW OTHER PEOPLE!

This is going to be an extremely short chapter full of KakaIru goodness of course......... nothing lemony cause well maybe I'll do that for another story lol.

Now when I say this chapter is short I am not kidding at all!

But here you go!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 24: Sound of Rain

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Iruka's hand twitched a bit as the chunin slowly regained his consciousness due to the extremely bright sunlight shining straight into his eyes. Iruka smirked a bit as he turned his head to reveal a pale figure lying next to him.

Kakashi's hair was still damp from the hard rain they received the night before.

So much had happened.

Iruka shivered a bit as he felt light touches against his lower torso running up to his chest to see Kakashi's fingers playing softly against the chunin's tan stomach. Iruka blushed as he realized Kakashi was smiling with a blush also on his pale features.

Kakashi's face.

There were no words that could describe how beautiful Kakashi was. It had been so long since Iruka had last seen that smile, the mere sight of it made Iruka blush even more.

Kakashi moved a bit so that his skin was against Iruka's as he pulled the chunin into a tight embrace ignoring the sharp pain from his back; from the wound Iruka had forced to the hospital for last night.

Kakashi buried his face into Iruka's hair before he let out a small impish giggle causing Iruka to turn around so he could look at the jounin.

"What's so funny?" Iruka asked with the small permanent blush still on his tan features.

"That's what I call making up."

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"Iruka........."

Kakashi couldn't finish his statement as the pain from the wound on his back finally caught up causing the jounin to collapse to the ground.

"Kakashi!" Iruka quickly ran over to the jounin dropping his umbrella a despite the freezing rain that was pouring on both of them. "Kakashi what's wrong!"

Kakashi felt Iruka's hands on his cold body sending shivers down his spine and then pain as Iruka finally found the wound.

"Kakashi you idiot! You need to go the hospital!"

_::::Looking back at me I see that I never really got it right::::_

"No......" Iruka looked dumbfounded as Kakashi rejected his idea of the hospital.

"But Kakashi.........you......"

"I'll be fine Iruka. Theres something I need to do first then you can yell at me all you want!" Kakashi bit out painfully as he grabbed Iruka's hand.

"Iruka I......" Iruka growled a bit as he slapped Kakashi across the face.

"Don't." Iruka bit his lip as he stared at Kakashi. "Don't......tell me what to do."

_::::I never stopped to think of you, I'm always wrapped up in things I cannot win::::_

The rain tapped against the thin roof of the emergency room as Iruka waited patiently.

He had told Kakashi that he would.

The doors opened to reveal a much calmer looking Kakashi then what Iruka had seen before. Iruka stood as Kakashi approached him but before he could say anything the jounin grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the waiting room.

Iruka was about to protest when he Kakashi stopped and pushed Iruka near the closest wall in the empty streets.

The rain was still pouring on both parties as Kakashi wrapped his arms around the chunin surprising Iruka.

_::::You are the antidote that gets me by, something strong like a drug that gets me high::::_

"Kakashi?" Iruka whispered as both their bodies were pressed together.

Iruka was about to say something else as a blush started to form on his cheeks as he realized to the situation. "Ka-"

"I love you."

Iruka froze as he tried to move so he could look Kakashi in the eye but the effort was fruitless.

"I will always love you."

"Kakashi?"

_::::What I really meant to say, is I'm sorry for the way I am::::_

_::::I never meant to be so cold, never meant to be so cold::::_

_::::What I really meant to say, is I'm sorry for the way I am::::_

_::::I never meant to be so cold, never meant to be so::::_

All Kakashi could hear was the sound of rain ringing through his ears and Iruka's breathing against his shoulder.

"Kakashi?" A hoarse whisper escaped the chunin causing Kakashi to wrap his arms around Iruka even tighter.

He had said it.

He did it.

Kakashi closed his eyes tightly not knowing what to expect from Iruka only praying that maybe.........

Just maybe.........

_::::I'm sorry about all the lies, maybe in a different light::::_

_::::You can see me stand on my own again::::_

"Kakashi......" Iruka's sweet voice whispered as the chunin wrapped his arms around Kakashi's back as he felt tears weld up in his eyes. "All this time......"

_::::I never really wanted you see the screwed side of me::::_

_::::That I keep locked inside of me so deep, it always seems to get to me::::_

The next thing Kakashi remembered was the kiss.

He didn't remember pulling down his mask.........maybe Iruka did it but it didn't matter.

That kiss was...

Kakashi remember how he had blushed madly as he found himself moaning from Iruka's advances.

_::::I never really wanted you to go, so many things you should have known::::_

_::::I never meant to be so cold::::_

Iruka roughly remembered climbing the steps to Kakashi's apartment. Or how he tripped causing both him and Kakashi to force the door open.

The giggling that proceeded when Kakashi tripped on some sort of discarded clothing placing Iruka on tope of him on the floor.

Kakashi remembered the slight pause as they passed by Obito's former room until Iuka brought him into another kiss. One slower then the others but just enough to remind the jounin what was truly important at that moment.

A thud against the wall, a rustle of cloth and the toss of discarded clothing left both men in a fit as Kakashi was finally able to take control of the situation making Iruka give the jounin a very smug grin.

The sound of the rain pounding against the window filled the surrounding rooms as the moon shine slowly started to break through the clouds and bless Konoha with its presence leading into the morning.

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Iruka stared down at the boiling water on the stove. He glanced around the room suspiciously before he finally grabbed a spoon and went to go stir the boiling nuisance.

That was until two strong arms wrapped around his stomach not allowing him to approach his prey.

"Nuh-uh Iruka-kun." Kakashi purred as he took the spoon away from Iruka. "I told you I was making breakfast."

"But-" Iruka stopped as two fingers descended onto his lips. Iruka grinned bit before he nodded. "I missed you."

Kakashi curved both his eyes before he gave Iruka a peck on the forehead.

"I missed us too."

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Kakashi smiled as he headed towards the Hokage's office.

His mission had gone smoothly and now he wanted to go home.

Iruka would probably be sad since today was graduation day meaning that a lot of his students would get the chance to become genin and leave him.

Kakashi never expected to see a crowd outside the Hokage's office so late at night. The jounin was about to just walk straight through the crowd when he saw Iruka at the side gritting his teeth.

"THIS TIME HE'S GONE TOO FAR!" An angry shinobi yelled catching Kakashi's attention.

"Lord Hokage!" Another yelled as he looked at the village leader who sighed deeply before he spoke to the crowd.

"The scroll he has taken is so dangerous that the first Hokage sealed it away!" Kakashi froze as he slowly turned his head towards Iruka who looked a mix of anger and confusion.

"If misused in the wrong hands it could be deadly!" The Hokage continued, "It was taken half a day ago. We have to find him!"

At that all the shinobi dispersed leaving a confused Kakashi and an irritated Hokage.

"Hokage-sama........."

The Hokage looked up, his lips tight together almost forcing them into one line.

What ever had happened was bad.

Very bad.

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The song is Cold by Crossfire.

The chapter is really short I know and I apologize but if I typed anymore then I would ruin the last chapter or not even make it to the last one not to mention the fact that I have had so many problems trying to get this chapter its not funny!

sigh

I'm sorry guys, I transferred schools after last quarter so I would graduate with my twin and its been kind of hectic. Not to mention the internet has officially disappeared from my computer so I will have to update this at my new school.

And the fact that that my mom found the story and forbid me to write it............

But that's another long story.

Again sorry and the last chapter should be out soon. This is actually the conclusion to the Story because it ends where the Manga begins and that was my plan. Sorry I'm not going to expound on the whole Mizuki thing because we all know how that goes.

Sorry about not replying to all of your reviews! Again I feel really sorry for taking so long to update but I promise I will make it up to all of you guys in the last chapter!!

bows for forgiveness

Hope you are having a great week!

Please Review


	25. The End

So uh………(Bows) Please forgive me for not updating in so long! I know you guys must have given up on my story but hey this is the last chapter and then I am starting a totally different story!

Discalimer: I do not own Naruto but I can tell you that Sasuke does……that's why he is seme.

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Chapter 25: The End

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Iruka tapped his foot impatiently as he woke up the blonde sleeping behind the Hokage desk.

"Iruka………" There was some mumbling before the blonde wiped the spit from it's lips then blinked a few times.

"Hokage-sama you should really get all your work done before you decide to take a nap!" Iruka sighed before he went to the desk and started organizing the documents.

"Tsunade-sama!" A pink haired young woman came running into the office before doing a polite bow to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei."

"Sakura-san" Iruka smiled as he watched the Hokage's pupil run up to her and ask her some question about medicine.

Iruka sighed as he picked up the stack of completed files and walked out of the office, he could probably finish filing this in an hour, and then he could go to lunch and wake up the Hokage again when he returns…………

An explosion behind Iruka caused all the papers to go flying around the room as Iruka sighed turning around slowly and making his way back to the Hokage's office.

"HAHAHAHA!" A loud obnoxious laughter could be heard resonating from the halls, "I have come for my title as Hokage!"

Iruka glared at Naruto causing the blonde to smile sheepishly before he found his face in the ground with Iruka's foot pressing his head down harder.

"ITIE!"

"NARUTO!" Iruka clicked his tongue before pushed down harder on the blonde's head. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave Hokage-sama alone on work days! You know how long it is going to take to clean up this mess not to mention find her now that you gave her ample time to escape from the building?"

Naruto laughed as his clone turned into smoke and he hugged Iruka.

"I have seen you in forever ni-chan!" Iruka smiled as he ruffled the boys hair even though the blonde was only a few inches shorter now that he was 18.

A group of ANBU suddenly appeared around them as Naruto 'eeped' before getting in a fighting stance.

The leader of the squad shook his head before his team disappeared and he slipped off his mask glaring at the blonde. "Dobe."

Naruto blushed a bit looking down, catching Iruka off guard before the young man glared over at the dark haired ANBU.

"Sasuke, you look as crabby as ever." Naruto got in a fighting stance.

"Only because you kept me up last night." Sasuke smirked as Naruto blushed deeper causing Iruka to sweat drop.

"Hey guys………" Iruka was about to continue until he felt another presence enter the room.

"Yo" Kakashi curved his eye as he looked around the messy office before he appeared next to Iruka pulling his lover into a tight embrace.

"HEY! Get off of Iruka!" Naruto yelled as he made his way over to them as Kakashi started to molest the chunin. "Hey stop it Kakashi!"

Kakashi just grinned as Iruka blushed.

"Hey Naruto, can you explain the scratches on Sasuke's back? He had a check up this morning and I must say I am a little concerned?" Kakashi asked very amusingly as the blonde stopped in his tracks with a huge blush.

Iruka looked over at Naruto worried, "Wait are you telling me you guys?"

Before Iruka could finish Kakashi pulled him into a cloth covered kiss only to get kicked and sent flying away from his lover by Naruto who was close to being permanently pink from all of his blushing.

"Sasuke!" Naruto glared at his former rival.

"Che, its not like it was the biggest secret in the world." Sasuke smirked before vanishing.

Iruka looked at Naruto.

Naruto avoided eye contact.

Oh, the poor fox boy had some explaining to do.

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"Ah!" Iruka gasped as Kakashi nipped down on his neck.

Iruka gripped on the sheets as Kakashi's cool hands explored his body.

The jounin had been gone for over a month this time and Iruka had been surprised to find Kakashi walking into their room as he was getting ready for bed. He had just figured the jounin wouldn't come home till much later.

"You look so cute underneath me!" Kakashi laughed a bit as Iruka glared up at him tightening his legs' grip around the jounin's waist. "Ah, not so tight."

"You didn't tell me Naruto and Sasuke had gotten that serious." Iruka glared at his lover as Kakashi smirked a bit.

"It's not my place to tell you all of Naruto's secrets." Kakashi bent down to kiss Iruka only to have his lips meet with a hand.

"Yes it is." Iruka glared at the jounin.

I'm not going to get any tonight am I? Kakashi thought bitterly as he moved off Iruka and put his shirt back on.

"I will be on the couch if you change your mind." Kakashi gave Iruka a pathetic look before he whimpered away.

"Kakashi!" Iruka sighed loudly as before the said jounin appeared over him once again pinning Iruka's hands above his head and bending down into a passionate kiss.

Yes! Kakashi smirked to himself as his tongue played around in Iruka mouth and the chunin grabbed onto his shirt.

Konoha hadn't changed that much in the 6 years since Naruto had graduated into the ninja academy. Besides the whole Orochimaru and Sasuke thing but that is for another story, we focus on Iruka and Kakashi who while they have had quite a few 'bumps' in their path have still remained together in those six years.

Minus that time when Kakashi set that academy on fire causing Iruka to be so mad at the jounin that he broke up with him…………but Kakashi says it doesn't count since they made up an hour later in the Hokage's office. (Hehehe)

Rough tan hands slowly traced a pale chin, Iruka's fingers moving along the face as if to sketch every feature of the jounin he loved.

"Ruka, that tickles…………stop it." Kakashi mumble tiredly curling up into a ball on the chunin's side.

Iruka smirked as he moved into the warmth of his lover.

Good times.

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The couple walked down the street, hand in hand, as the slowly setting sun gave Konoha a bright orange glow. Walking together Kakashi pulled Iruka's hand up to his lips causing the chunin to blush as they made their quiet walk.

Kakashi was still one of the top ranking ninjas in the village, some saying his knowledge and power was equivalent to that of one of the legendary sennins. He still read his infamous book and had actually passed one more team of genin since the first team he had passed.

His silver hair still flopped to the side and he still wore the same outfit he had always worn, though today he wasn't wearing his vest.

Iruka still taught classes though he was no longer found in the mission assigning room as he would often be in Hokage tower making sure Tsunade-sama hadn't ignored her tasks, which made him her very own personal assistant but Iruka didn't like being called that.

Nor did Kakashi like her referring to Iruka as 'her's', him being the jealous type and all.

Iruka was still the same Iruka, emotions and all, his hair being tied back in his typical ponytail, but today instead of his usual uniform, he wore a kimono. . It was a light blue with dark blue and red water designs all over it. The designs showed the land his mother was from. Tall mountains, mist, birds, and flowers, just like the one his mom had loved so much during his childhood with her.

Today was a special day for the two, it was the day the both first met, May 28th, as it was also Iruka's mom's birthday.

Every year since the incident that happened 6 years ago on the day occurred, both would walk to the memorial.

Not that Mizuki's name would be found there but instead it was a way for them to honor their friends, their parents, and their past.

Heidaki was always the first, being the first name carved on there. Pale fingers traced it slowly as Iruka smiled at Kakashi. Then Iruka would pray to his parents as Kakashi made dirty jokes about what he was doing to their son every night.

Iruka hardly made it through the prayer without hitting Kakashi.

Obito……then they would place a flower for Hitomi, a fond memory of Mizuki before, a dirty joke from Kakashi for Hayate………a speech of thanks for Kurenai who had died in the war protecting children.

Both would stay there for a good amount of time telling stories and giving recollections of past memories.

"Oi, Iruka-chan!" A loud and boisterous voice called out causing both the lovers to turn.

Naruto waved as he dragged Sasuke over to the memorial, being followed by an annoyed looking Shikamaru, and Sakura grabbing tightly on the Lee's hand.

"Naruto………"

"We came to give thanks too." Naruto smiled as he got on this knees and clapped his hands together.

The others followed his direction pausing when some other figures came walking up.

Tsunade smirked as she too sat, as did Anko who was glaring at Gai. Gemna held on to Sayaka's hand as they sat down, Asuma coming up next, throwing his cigarette to the ground before settling next to Shikamaru.

Kiba appeared with akamaru as did Neji holding on the Hinata's hand.

"Thank you Shino." Naruto started.

"Choji." Shikamaru leaned his head back on his former sensei's shoulder.

"Ino." Sakura smiled sadly.

"Tenten." Neji spoke as Hinata comforted him.

"Mom." Kiba bowed.

"Thank you Shizune." Tsunade patted the pig in her arms head as it made a sad squeal.

So many had lost their lives in the war, and yet because of that so many had gained life. Some even had gained a second chance.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, remember the time me and Ino………"

"Oi, Iruka remember when Kurenai tried to dye your hair?"

"Do ya'll remember when pervert sennin……" Naruto was cut off by a wack in the head from Jiraiya.

"I'm not dead yet you idiot." Jiraiya growled as the grouped laughed.

Iruka holding onto Kakashi's hand as the jounin gripped his.

This was Konoha.

No.

This is Konoha.

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Lo siento! But that is the end of 'Growing Pains' unless I suddenly find whatever muse I was using to write the story and he slaps me and tells me how much my ending sucked!

I actually don't think it was that bad considering it is kind of like one of those cheesy anime ending where all the characters suddenly come from no where, or like in Naruto flashbacks where he always starts off alone and then is surrounded by friends.

I was going for the same effect…..(cough)

I actually have a few stories I need to post now but I refused to put them up until I finished this. Sorry I disappeared for so long and I would like to thank all of you guys who read and reviewed my story because fanfictions wouldn't exist without the fans like us right?

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Peace-


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